Honoring Those Who Have Served
Veterans and military servicemembers and their families are much more likely than civilians to be targeted by fraudsters. Veterans can be viewed as easy targets by scammers due to the assumption that veterans have a strong sense of giving back to other fellow veterans. This has led to fake veteran charities or causes being among the highest reported scams by veteran victims. They may also be targeted for pension or disability theft.
The DFPI offers a wide range of resources dedicated to protecting our California veterans and military servicemembers on our Consumer Financial Education for Military and Veterans webpage. You can also find additional resources and downloadable brochures on our Information for Military Service Members webpage. Check out our Online Events Calendar for veterans and military related webinars and in-person educational events in your area.
Other veteran and military servicemember resources include:
Stand Down Events
Stand Downs are 1 to 3-day events providing supplies and services to homeless Veterans, such as food, shelter, clothing, health screenings, and VA Social Security benefits counseling. Veterans can also receive referrals to other assistance such as healthcare, housing solutions, employment, substance use treatment, and mental health counseling. They are collaborative events, coordinated between local VA Medical Centers, the Department of Labor, and other government agencies and community-based homeless service providers. For stand down events in your area, visit the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Stand Down Events Calendar.
Career Fairs
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base hosts an Annual Career Fair. This event is its largest hiring event with over 100 participating employers. The DFPI hosts employment recruitment and financial resources tables at Camp Pendleton’s career fairs as well as at Travis Air Force Base and Fort Irwin National Training Center. Our team supports our California servicemembers with financial educational resources as well as valuable information and insight on how to land a state job, and especially, how to join the DFPI team.
Small Business Support
Not all veterans and transitioning servicemembers want to pursue employment after their service. If your dream is to be your own boss and start your own business, the DFPI can help. For more information on starting a business, visit our Consumer Financial Education: Small Business webpage. We can also help you with raising capital for small businesses.
VA Benefits/Disability Compensation
The most important step in transitioning to civilian life is understanding and managing your VA benefits. For assistance with paperwork or any questions you may have, the VA.gov website is your best resource for healthcare and disability compensation information.
VA Office of Inspector General
The VA Office of Inspector General conducts independent oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It investigates a wide range of financial crimes from threats against VA personnel and property to actions associated with patient harm. For more information about trending scams and fraud related to veterans and the military, visit the Fraud Indicators Toolkit and Crime Alerts Webpage.
This National Veterans and Military Families Month, we celebrate Mortgage Loan Originator team member William Burgos’ journey from the Air Force to DFPI. His story highlights veterans’ unique contributions and skills to our community, enriching our work with dedication and precision.
My name is William Burgos, and I am a Staff Services Analyst in DFPI’s Mortgage Loan Originator division. I specialize in assisting mortgage lenders, servicers, and professionals with their DFPI license applications and renewals. I am often the first contact a licensee has with the DFPI, walking them through the application process and making any needed amendments along the way. As a natural extrovert, I enjoy interacting with all types of people from all over. I take pride in helping them attain their business goals through licensing and certification. I’m also of Puerto Rican heritage, so I can assist callers in Spanish if needed.
In the U.S. Air Force, I served as an Airman stationed mainly at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California. There I worked as a mechanic servicing U2 spy planes and Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. During my tenure, I was temporarily stationed overseas in Abu Dahbi, UAE; Ramstein, Germany; and Lakenheath, England. After leaving the Air Force in 2018, I took advantage of the Post 9-11 GI Bill that paid in full my four years of college. I was also an honors student (3.5 GPA) which qualified me for an additional standard of living stipend, so I graduated with no student loan debt! I hold a B.A. in Communications from San Francisco State University.
I believe my military training directly translated to the work I do with the DFPI. Primarily because it taught me to pay close attention to detail, especially when reading technical maintenance manuals, where one small error could cost the life of a pilot. In my work at the DFPI, one small documentation mistake might prevent or delay a home sale. It also taught me how to work with and communicate with teams from all over the U.S., Europe, and Australia, which comes in handy every day at the DFPI. I am also a strong believer in upholding public trust. The Air Force core values are “integrity, service before self, and excellence in everything you do,” which I strive to live by. I strongly support DFPI’s commitment to do right by consumers. It’s a mission that dovetails well with my Air Force values.
My advice for veterans and transitioning military servicemembers would be to not worry about how your military skills will transfer. I am fortunate to have great supervision and diversity and inclusion on my team. Everyone has been so helpful, answering questions and offering mentorship. I feel very welcome here.
Although, I’m a native of The Bronx, New York. I have settled in the Sacramento area with my wife, Rina, a Sacramento native who also works in state service, and our two cats Savannah and Sasha. We love to travel and are planning a trip to Europe this summer. Recently, we were able to use a VA Home Loan to buy our first home with 0% down.
