San Ramon man guilty of embezzling funds from disabled veterans

OAKLAND — A San Ramon man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to misappropriating and embezzling nearly $40,000 from disabled and incompetent veterans, authorities said.

By pleading guilty, Raj Kumar Ditta, 51, admitted that he entered into a fiduciary agreements with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, agreeing to act as a trustee for eight veterans or beneficiaries determined to be not competent enough to manage their financial affairs. Ditta used that money for his own benefit, authorities said.

He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in November; Ditta faces a maximum of five years in federal prison as well as a $250,000 fine.

Ditta was required to establish bank accounts and receive the income provided by the VA in order to pay off debts by each of the beneficiaries, authorities said. He admitted in his plea that for each beneficiary, he established a separate bank account and, within months, began taking money from the accounts.

In all, he took $39,500 from the accounts and used them for his own benefit, according to the plea agreement.

A federal indictment issued in May also charged Ditta with 15 counts of stealing government money, but those charges will be dismissed at sentencing if Ditta complies with the plea agreement.