An elected Orange County Superior Court judge pleaded guilty on Monday, Jan. 12, to his role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud a state workers’ compensation program.
Israel Claustro, a 50-year-old former county prosecutor, agreed to resign from his position as a judge after signing a plea deal admitting to one count of mail fraud.
Claustro, during a brief Monday hearing before Magistrate Judge Douglas F. McCormick at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, made his first appearance as a criminal defendant before being ordered released on his own recognizance.
“Do you understand what the government alleges you did?” McCormick asked Claustro.
“Yes, I do,” Claustro said.
Claustro, sitting between his two defense attorneys, briefly responded to questions from McCormick. Neither he nor his attorneys spoke directly about the allegations. Paul Meyer, one of Claustro’s attorneys, in a statement wrote that Claustro “deeply regretted” taking part in the business venture that led to the federal fraud charges.
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