A California judge will resign after pleading guilty to a felony mail fraud charge for allegedly hiring a physician convicted of health care fraud to prepare medical records to submit to the state’s workers’ compensation program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
According to Ballotpedia, Israel Claustro was elected January 3, 2013, In the primary ... after the general election was cancelled." He was a judge of "the Superior Court of Orange County,_which appears to be California's court of general jurisdiction. Judge Claustro presided in Orange County, home of Anaheim, Irvine, and more. The job paid almost $180,000.
In fairness, Mr. Claustro was not a judge at the time of his felony; he "was an Orange County prosecutor at the time." He operated Liberty Medical Group, "despite being neither a physician nor a medical professional as required under California law." The company, Liberty, employed physicians to provide patient care.
The U.S. Attorney says that one "of Liberty’s employees was Dr. Kevin Tien Do, 60," and that he was previously convicted of fraud. That conviction led to "suspension from California’s workers’ compensation program." Nonetheless, Dr. Do was paid "more than $300,000" to prepare "medical evaluations, medical record reviews, and med-legal reports after Do’s suspension."
The secrecy of this action was preserved by "listing other doctors’ names on the billing forms and reports," concealing Dr. Do's involvement. The impact of the "known" falsity, according to the U.S. Attorney, was about $38,670, which was "paid to Liberty" as a result of the various "fraudulent submitted reports. The overall payments to Liberty were "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
In March 2026, the California Commission on Judicial Performance concluded its disciplinary proceeding against "former Judge Claustro." It concluded that his guilt of a felony "constitutes conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute." The Commission noted that despite his conviction, he "failed to promptly report to the commission when he was charged."
Mr. Castro agreed, therefore, to a "censure and bar."
Censure is a public notice of "improper conduct," akin to a public reprimand. The "bar" is a "lifetime bar on future judicial service," according to Metropolitan News. The lessons are worth consideration. Behavior before taking the bench is actionable. Pleading guilty to crimes is a first step, but reporting to the qualifications authorities is also imperative. Finally, at least in California, the authority to impose discipline survives a resignation from the bench.
