Rent-a-Vet: The Side Deal That Kept 98% of Every Payment

A secret written side agreement said the quiet part out loud: the venture existed to “use the Disabled Veteran Status” of the veteran partner — who got 2% while the non-veteran’s firm kept 98%.

Otero, who had no military experience, formed a joint venture with service-disabled veteran Roger Ramsey’s company and falsely represented that it qualified as an SDVOSB.

Six months in, the two signed a secret side agreement admitting the venture existed so A&D could "use the Disabled Veteran Status of Action Telecom," with A&D running the jobs and keeping 98% of every payment. Ramsey nominally served as president while working full-time for another telecommunications company; Otero and A&D controlled day-to-day operations.

The U.S. Attorney called it a "cynical and illegal ‘rent-a-vet’ scheme." A federal jury convicted Otero and A&D in November 2018.

"A&D will keep 98% of every payment; Action Telecom will receive 2% of every payment."
— U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California. Case file in the VA Fraud case files — part of the VA Fraud record. Cases are published as the courts decided them; amounts are stated as the Justice Department states them (billed, stolen, or ordered in restitution, as labeled).