A Bowie, Maryland, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly using his security company to defraud a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program for disabled military veterans out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Francis Engles, 63, was charged in a 20-count indictment alleging he used Engles Security Training School, which he co-owned and operated, to overcharge the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment program for services that either were shortened, or not rendered at all.
Engles allegedly presented the VA with documents stating he was providing 15 veterans with courses for 40 hours per week and over 600 hours over the course of several months, only to frequently cancel classes without notice or offer significantly shorter sessions than promised.
Engles also submitted false certificates of completion of courses and letters to the VA falsely stating the veterans had been employed by his business, according to the indictment.
The program, which provides disabled military veterans with education and employment-related services, was charged thousands of dollars more than non-veterans who took similar courses from the school. According to the indictment, the VA paid over $300,000 for the purported education of 15 veterans.
