A Tucson man was indicted by a grand jury after he was accused of lying on background checks to get jobs with federal government contractors while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force.
David Velarde, 44, intentionally made false claims in applications to contractors that worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was accused of lying about when he would retire from the Air Force and holding jobs with federal contractors while on active duty with the Air Force.
Velarde was also accused of lying while applying to work for a federal contractor after retiring from the Air Force, concealing that he had
previously been fired from federal contract work, according to the indictment. Between August 2021 and October 2025, he was suspected of earning $466,708 in wages from the Air Force and federal contractors, the indictment said.
Velarde worked full-time for a consulting firm that contracted with NASA from August 2021 to February 2024 while still employed at the Air Force, according to the indictment. On his application, he claimed he was retiring from the Air Force in September 2021. He was fired in February 2024 for violating the conflict-of-interest policy by working for another federal contractor at the same time, the indictment said.
Velarde worked full time for a contractor that worked with the IRS from January 2023 to November 2023, the indictment said. His application did not mention he was already employed at the consulting firm and claimed he was retiring from the Air Force in January 2023.
From April 2024 to October 2025, Velarde worked for another company that contracted with NOAA. When applying for that job, Velarde indicated he had never been fired from any previous job, the indictment said.
“You cannot be in multiple places at once, and you certainly cannot mislead the federal government to obtain simultaneous employment,” Jennifer Bryan, special agent in charge of the NASA office of Inspector General’s western field office, said in a statement. “David Velarde’s scheme to collect multiple paychecks was both an abuse of taxpayer dollars and a breach of public trust. Let this indictment be an example to those who attempt to game the federal contracting system.”
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Corina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson man netted $466K from multiple government jobs, feds say
