Former San Diego-Area Police Officer Admits Pocketing Nearly $300,000 in a Dead Coworker's Benefits
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced on November 4 that Ivan Alonso Rodriguez of El Cajon, in San Diego County, California, pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting that he failed to report the death of a former coworker to the government and pocketed almost $300,000 in federal benefits intended for the deceased man.
Rodriguez and the deceased coworker, identified in court documents as R.J.W., had worked together as police officers at the Naval Base San Diego Security Department until R.J.W.'s retirement. In his plea agreement, Rodriguez admitted that in 2013, R.J.W. designated him as the sole trustee of his living trust, gave him power of attorney over his affairs, and added him as a co-signatory to the bank account where R.J.W. was receiving retirement benefit payments from the Social Security Administration and the Office of Personnel Management.
In 2016, R.J.W. died in Baja California, Mexico, and despite receiving news of the death, Rodriguez did not report it to either the government or the bank. The Social Security Administration and the Office of Personnel Management therefore continued making payments that would otherwise have ceased at R.J.W.'s death. From May 2016 through September 2025, Rodriguez received more than $200,000 in Retirement Insurance Benefits, $85,000 in Federal Employees Retirement System benefits, and $3,200 in Economic Impact Payments intended to benefit R.J.W., and admitted converting the stolen public money to his own use.
Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on February 12, 2027, at 8:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, in case number 26-CR-04295-JO. The offense of receipt, concealment and retention of stolen public money carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Hill, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国司法部总部大楼（联邦固定图库） / U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (federal fixed image library)
