Nonprofit owner charged with misappropriating funds as the fiduciary to a veteran

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Michael J. Missal, Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, announced that Faye Janzad made an initial appearance in federal court on April 5 on an indictment charging her with two counts of fiduciary misappropriation and two counts of making false statements. Janzad, 63, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

A federal grand jury indicted Janzad on March 21. According to the indictment, Janzad was the owner and director of Veterans Independent Living of Albuquerque (VILA), a nonprofit company that provides housing and services to veterans at various levels of care. In January 2018, Janzad was appointed to serve as the fiduciary to a disabled veteran under VILAs care. At that time, two cashier’s checks in the amount of $20,360.26 and $143,002.77 were dispersed from the veteran’s prior fiduciary to Janzad. Rather than deposit the checks into the veteran’s beneficiary account, Janzad deposited both checks into VILA’s corporate bank account.

In Oct. and Nov. of 2018, the VA asked Janzad to provide bank statements showing the disposition of the veteran’s money. Instead, Janzad led the VA to believe that she had invested the veteran’s money in a mortgage on a VILA property, earning 5% interest. In Dec. 2018, Janzad recorded a mortgage with Bernalillo County which purported to grant the veteran an interest in a property, though the mortgage erroneously referred to a property that was not owned by VILA but had been owned by one of VILA’s other clients. Shortly after, the VA removed Janzad as fiduciary for the veteran and demanded that she forward all monies to the successor fiduciary. Janzad never fixed the faulty mortgage, never made any payments on the mortgage, and never forwarded the veteran’s funds to his successor fiduciary.

During the investigation, Janzad provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with a Fiduciary Statement of Account that omitted any mention of the veteran’s $163,363, and she knowingly made false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements to VA personnel.

“The charges announced today are an important step in seeking justice for a veteran who was allegedly defrauded by their VA-appointed fiduciary,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebeccalynn Staples with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Western Field Office. “The VA OIG appreciates the support of the US Attorney’s Office for their efforts in prosecuting this case.”

“We honor our nation’s veterans not just with words but with action,” said United States Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “A disabled veteran is not a mortgage loan bank, and should not be treated as such. My office will fight to protect those who fought to protect us.”

An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Janzad faces up to 5 years in prison as to each count in the indictment.

The Criminal Investigators Division of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting the case.

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