Xavier (Javier) Alvarez

Claimed 29 year Veteran of the USMC, 25 years with Recon, 2 purple hearts, a silver star and a Medal of Honor for pulling the flag from the embassy in Iran during the hostage situation.

Official who made false medal claim now facing felony fraud charges
San Bernardino Sun - San Bernardino,CA,USA
He was fined and sentenced to probation in July for violating the Stolen Valor Act,
which criminalizes false claims of military valor. ..

MORE of the STORY

Pomona-area water board member sentenced for misusing public funds

October 1, 2009 | 2:09 pm
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/pomona-water-board.html

A Pomona-area water board member convicted of misappropriating public funds was sentenced today to five years in state prison.

Pomona Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho sentenced Three Valleys Municipal Water District board member Xavier Alvarez, 51, to state prison and ordered him to pay $4,150.79 in restitution to the water district.

Alvarez, who in 2006 was elected to the board by south Pomona voters, unlawfully secured medical benefits for his ex-wife, Juanita Ruiz. The Three Valleys district provides medical insurance to its directors, their spouses, children and other dependents.

Alvarez failed to disclose that he had been divorced for five years when he applied for and received health insurance benefits for Ruiz, prosecutors said. Alvarez already was on federal probation for falsely claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient.

L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Sandi Roth noted jurors deliberated for less than an hour Sept. 18 before convicting Alvarez of misappropriation of public funds, insurance fraud and grand theft.

His conviction for misappropriation of public funds prohibits him from holding elected office again. A pending case against Alvarez involving one count of perjury was dismissed at sentencing.

-- Richard Winton

Water board director Alvarez has jury trial set for April

By Wes Woods II Staff Writer

Posted: 03/10/2009 05:36:41 PM PDT

Pomona - Water board member Xavier Alvarez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to illegally registering his ex-wife for health benefits with the Three Valleys Municipal Water District.

Alvarez, who represents south Pomona on the water board, had a jury trial set for 8:30 a.m. April 29 at Pomona Superior Court.

He is accused of adding his ex-wife, Juanita Ruiz, on his insurance from Jan. 24 to Oct. 31, 2007.

Alvarez entered a plea of not guilty on all four felony counts Tuesday at his arraignment.

Previously, Alvarez was fined and sentenced to probation in July for violating the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims of military valor. He claimed he had received the Medal of Honor.

Alvarez was fined and sentenced to perform community service at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda.

In the current case, an estimated $4,000 was calculated as the loss of water district health insurance premiums, officials said.

Alvarez, who faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison if convicted on the charges, had no comment before or after the arraignment.

When Alvarez's case was called Tuesday, his public defender, Rudolfo Aguirre, was on another case. Judicial Commissioner Wade Olson asked public defender Vincent Milone to stand in for Aguirre.

Juan Rodriguez, 77, of Pomona is a Korean War veteran who was at the arraignment as a spectator.

"They can kick him out of the water board," Rodriguez said.

Alvarez pleads not guilty to perjury charge over tax form
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario,CA,USA
Alvarez was fined and received probation in July 2008 for violating the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims of military valor. ...

http://www.claremont-courier.com/pages/Topstory120608.2.html

Board member waits for arraignment on felony charges - December 6, 2008

An arraignment hearing was postponed Thursday morning for Xavier Alvarez, an elected board member to the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in Claremont. The arraignment was continued to Thursday, December 18 at Pomona Superior Court.

Mr. Alvarez, who represents Pomona's first district on the board, is charged with 3 felony counts relating to illegally funneling health insurance benefits to his ex-wife for nearly $4,000. The charges include misappropriation of public funds, insurance fraud and grand theft.

Three Valleys Municipal Water District offers insurance coverage to board members and their dependents. According to Deputy District Attorney Sandi Roth, Mr. Alvarez has not been married since March 4, 2002, 5 years before he received health coverage for his ex-wife.

If charged on all counts, Mr. Alvarez could be sentenced to anywhere from felony probation with community service, county jail time or a maximum of 6 years in state prison.

The Public Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which prosecutes public officials and government employees, is prosecuting the case.

Brian Bowcock, who represents Claremont and La Verne on the Three Valleys Board, said that Mr. Alvarez could be voted off the board if he is found guilty of a felony or does not attend a meeting for at least 90 days. He said he would call a special board meeting if Mr. Alvarez were charged with a felony. The meeting would aim at getting him taken off the board.

“He has literally branded Three Valleys with a name in a very negative fashion,” Mr. Bowcock said. “We have become a laughing stock. His actions reflect on all of us and harmed all water directors in the eyes of the public.”

Mr. Alvarez has already pled guilty to federal charges in July of violating the Stolen Valor Act for making publicly recorded statements claiming to have won the Congressional Medal of Honor, the military's highest decoration. Mr. Alvarez has never served in the military.

Prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's office, Mr. Alvarez received a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 3 years probation, a fine of $5,000 and 416 hours of community service. The judge recommended that he serve his community service at the Veteran's Hospital in Loma Linda.

According to Craig Missakian, the Assistant US Attorney who prosecuted the case, Mr. Alvarez has not done any community service at the hospital out of safety concerns, and his probation officer is considering alternative locations.

“My understanding is that the veterans who go to that hospital were just so disgusted with Mr. Alvarez's conduct and his refusal to step down from his position, that they really didn't want to see him around the facility,” Mr. Missakian said.

Mr. Alvarez began his position in January 2007. Despite public outcry from outraged veterans and citizens, Mr. Alvarez has refused to resign from his position. His term officially ends in January 2011.

Mr. Alvarez could not be reached for comment.

12:17 pm: Woman who challenged Alvarez' fake medal claim calls ...
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario,CA,USA

Woman who challenged Alvarez' fake medal claim calls fine 'slap on the wrist'

By Will Bigham
Article Created: 07/23/2008 12:19:32 PM PDT

A former Southern California Edison employee who claims she was fired after questioning Xavier Alvarez' claims of military valor said Wednesday she was "really aggravated" by what she considered a light sentence handed down to Alvarez on Monday.

Alvarez was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $5,000 and assigned about 400 hours of community service in Los Angeles federal court Monday for violating the Stolen Valor Act.

Alvarez, south Pomona's representative on the Three Valleys Municipal Water District board, claimed in July 2007 that he was a former Marine and had been awarded the Medal of Honor. He never served in the military. Melissa Campbell, a former Marine who was fired in July 2007, said Alvarez deserved "at least home detention - so he would have lost his job. She called the $5,000 fine "a slap on the wrist."

"He has no business being in public office. Personally, I don't know why it's just a misdemeanor charge."

Campbell was working as an event planner on a June 2007 Edison-sponsored trip to Big Creek, Calif., where Alvarez was a guest. He told Campbell and other people during the trip that he was a former Marine and Medal of Honor winner, she said.

Campbell questioned his claim and confronted him during the trip. The San Clemente resident says she was accused by her supervisors of acting unprofessional in her conduct with Alvarez. She was suspended from her job two weeks later, and fired two weeks after that.

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Water official to plead guilty to false claim he won Medal of Honor
Whittier Daily News - Whittier,CA,USA
As part of his agreement with the federal government, Alvarez has agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Stolen Valor Act, ...

From staff reports
Article Launched: 04/30/2008 10:18:45 PM PDT

Local water director Xavier Alvarez has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his false claim that he won the Medal of Honor, according to the case's federal prosecutor.

Alvarez, who represents south Pomona on the Three Valleys Municipal Water District board, was taped making the medal claim at July meeting of the Walnut Valley Water District.

He later admitted he never served in the military.

As part of his agreement with the federal government, Alvarez has agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Stolen Valor Act, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian.

Missakian said he received the plea agreement Tuesday.

Alvarez has also agreed to sentencing guidelines that would include probation only, with no prison time, Missakian said.

The guilty plea and the terms of the agreement will not become final until Alvarez's court appearance Monday. Alvarez could still back out of the agreement before that date, Missakian said.

The judge may also decide to issue Alvarez a different sentence than the one outlined in the plea agreement, Missakian said.

As part of the agreement, Alvarez will still be able to appeal his case on First Amendment grounds to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Missakian said.

Alvarez unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act. He argued that the statute violated the First Amendment by making medal claims such as his a criminal offense. Missakian said
he expected Alvarez to appeal the case, though he said he had no direct knowledge of Alvarez's plans.

The government has agreed to drop the second count of violating the Stolen Valor Act against Alvarez, Missakian said.

The second charge was related to a taped medal claim that Alvarez made in November 2005 during an interview seeking the endorsement of the Pomona Police Officers' Association.

Alvarez could not be reached for comment. His public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is still investigating charges that Alvarez illegally enrolled his ex-wife for health benefits from Three Valleys. Missakian said he could not comment on the investigation because it is still in progress.

Alvarez has been censured by the Three Valleys board over the health benefits issue.

http://www.sbsun.com/editorial/ci_9641149

An official problem

Article Launched: 06/19/2008 09:02:57 PM PDT

If ever there was a poster boy for the recall process, it's Xavier Alvarez.

We wish complete success to the seven-member committee that has formed to recall Alvarez, a Three Valleys Municipal Water District board member who pleaded guilty to violating the federal Stolen Valor Act for claiming he had won the Medal of Honor. He's never even been in the military.

How can he fail to understand that he should resign his seat after his conviction and history of lies? It can't be that he refuses to step down because he has so much to bring to the water district. He knows nothing about water delivery. He only drains the board's and staff's time and attention.

Ironically, the recall effort announced at Wednesday's meeting is led by Marco Robles, the former Pomona City Council member whom Alvarez attempted to recall from office. Is this a case of retribution?

Who cares? Get Alvarez out of there.

================================

July 4 2008 news
=================

Pomona Man Sentenced For Falsely Claiming Medal Of Honor

KNBC

Three Years Probation, $5,000 Fine, Community Service Ordered

POSTED: 1:06 pm PDT July 21, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- A local water district official who falsely claimed to have earned the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles to three years of probation.

Xavier Alvarez, 50, of Pomona, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner to pay a $5,000 fine and to perform one day a week of community service for one year at the VA Hospital in Loma Linda -- a total of more than 400 hours.

The board member with the Three Valleys Municipal Water District -- which serves the Pomona, Walnut and eastern San Gabriel valleys -- pleaded guilty May 5 to violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which makes it a misdemeanor to lie about receiving a military decoration.

Alvarez's plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office gives him the option to appeal his plea based on his First Amendment right to free speech.

According to prosecutors, Alvarez -- who has never served in the U.S. Armed Forces -- made the false claim at a July 2007 public meeting of the Water District board when he was introduced as a newly elected member of the Claremont-based panel.

"I'm a retired Marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy. I'm still around," Alvarez said, according to a tape of the meeting.

On June 27, 2007, Alvarez also told a former Marine in private that he had won the Medal of Honor for his role in a mission in Iran to rescue the U.S. ambassador -- a mission that sounded similar to the 2000 action film "Rules of Engagement," court papers state.

Other members of the water board publicly called for Alvarez's resignation, both for his admitted crime as well as for allegedly lying on a health insurance form that paid benefits to Alvarez and his wife -- even though he has been divorced for five years.

Thus far, Alvarez, who won his Water Board seat by 48 votes in 2006 and initially accused his political enemies of framing him, has refused to step down.

Speaking after Monday's hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said Alvarez's refusal to resign shows "he has not taken the crime seriously and shown sufficient remorse."

Alvarez owed his narrow electoral win in part by lying to voters about winning the Medal of Honor, Missakian said.

A call to Alvarez's attorney, Deputy Federal Public Defender Brianna Fuller, was not immediately returned.

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Water district responds

Alvarez bio deleted off Web

Will Bigham, Staff Writer

Article Created: 08/04/2008 08:25:28 PM PDT

CLAREMONT - The Three Valleys Municipal Water District stripped its online biography for Director Xavier Alvarez Monday after a member of the American Legion protested Alvarez's claim in his biography that he is a Legion member.

Army veteran Rees Lloyd, of Banning, sent the water district a letter Friday demanding that it remove or modify Alvarez's biography.

After much of Alvarez's biography was discredited last year, the district added a disclaimer that the information was provided by individual board members.

Lloyd felt the district hadn't gone far enough. The biography, Lloyd wrote, "brings discredit to the American Legion and damages our good name and reputation."

The biography also included a false claim by Alvarez that he earned a bachelor of arts degree from Cal Poly Pomona. The school has no record of him attending.

When Three Valleys board president Bob Kuhn was notified of Lloyd's letter Monday, he told district staff members to remove anything in Alvarez's biography that the district did not know to be true.

Alvarez's entire biography - except a listing for a now-disconnected phone number - was removed Monday afternoon.

"We know for a fact that he didn't go to school," Kuhn said Monday. "He started (the biography) with the fact that he was a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona. That by itself was enough to take the whole thing down. "As a matter of fact, this was the easiest decision I've ever made," Kuhn

continued. "I had a tougher time deciding what to eat for breakfast this morning."

Alvarez, who represents south Pomona on the water board, was fined and sentenced to probation in July for violating the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims of military valor.

Alvarez was taped claiming he won the Medal of Honor last year at a meeting of the Walnut Valley Water District. He later admitted he never served in the military.

Alvarez's attorney filed a motion to appeal his conviction on Thursday.

The water director's plea agreement with the federal government allowed him to appeal his conviction on constitutional grounds. Alvarez argued unsuccessfully after he was charged that the Stolen Valor Act violates the First Amendment because it criminalizes false speech.