Gilbert Thomas Prado; another phony working for Congress
Back in July, we talked about Javier Sanchez, a phony Marine working for Michelle Bachmann in Congress. Today, Wendell sends us a link to the KSL.news which reports that Gilbert Prado who worked for Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz has been busted for defrauding the VA.
Prado “falsely represented” to Veterans Affairs that he was injured during combat in Iraq in 2006, prosecutors allege. The indictment doesn’t question that Prado served in the military.
Prado has talked about his military service in several Utah newspapers, including the Deseret News three years ago when he worked in a field office for Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
Prado was interviewed in March 2005 as he prepared for 545-day tour of duty in the Middle East as an Army Reserve staff sergeant with the 146th Transportation Company. The Ogden Standard-Examiner story said he worked as a mechanic in the Army Reserve for 17 years.
According to the indictment, Prado claimed during evaluations for VA benefits that an improvised explosive device exploded 40 feet from him and threw him into the side of a truck. He said he suffered a concussion and broken ribs as well as blurry vision, headaches and short-term memory loss.
Prado, 49, also told the VA that during a convoy mission he shot at an approaching vehicle and killed two men, and that he had recurring nightmares about the shooting, according to the indictment. He said everyday activities such as work and driving caused him to remember the explosion and the shootings.
He also said he injured his elbows breaking down doors during house-to-house searches.
None of those stories is true, according to the indictment.
He got his job in Congress through their WOunded Warrior hiring program so some deserving veteran missed out on a job because of this monkey-boy. He’s facing a fifteen count indictment for the $18,000 he defrauded the VA.
Chaffetz said he couldn’t say much because it’s a personnel matter, but at some point his office became concerned about the authenticity of Prado’s story.
In other words, like all phonies, he talked too much. I guess that’s an easier way to catch phonies than actually looking at their records. Funny, when I got my government job, I had to show my DD214 and I needed a letter from the VA verifying my compensatory disability.
Category: Phony soldiers
I am a little confused here.
So the VA did not ask to see a DD-214 or combat-wounded documentation (Purple Heart or 15-6 for NBI)?
OK, I have an idea. Before we bust these phonies, we make them give up a valuable bit of information: The names and numbers of the people at the VA that they work with because it seems they drag their feet on real vets.
While stationed at Camp Victory, I got hit twice by the Baghdad Crud. My coughing and wheezing was so bad that I once drowned out the morning BUB coming through the computer audio and one of my colleagues threatened to beat the shit out of me unless I go to the infirmary on sick-call. It was horrible, man, horrible. Guess it’s now time for me to mosey on down to the VA to go get my permanent disability check…
When I applied to work for the government I too had to show my DD-214(s) and obtain that letter from the VA stating that I was 30%+ Disabled.
I am trying to figure out how do these assholes get this shit by the VA to begin with, in order to obtain disablity based on bogus claims. I have had to fight them over some of the most rediculous shit that was documented and they denied me on it initially. I am pretty damned sure I had to produce a dd-214 at the minimum to prove I served.
“Chaffetz said he couldn’t say much because it’s a personnel matter…” Chaffetz could say whatever the hell he wanted to say. But I understand. The less said about this embarrassing little matter, the better–for him.
Back when I was in Iraq..you know back when we where still shooting. I never got rated by the VA because I am not a wuss but now that Dalton beat my ass when he came to Perry I might need to because he fucked me up worse than when he fucked my sister. DALTON IS THE MAN!!!
It is true. I beat him up because Smitty is a wuss.
Wait, I got blown up in Iraq, and I have memory loss. I also wake up at night, or suffer nights where I don’t dare sleep because of the nightmares (not usually related to Iraq), and on rare occasions (usually triggered by smell) I have full on flashbacks, in complete 3D and surround sound.
Seriously, just yesterday while riding in the passenger seat of my jeep, I half turned to my wife and started yelling “Get in the middle of the fucking road!” before I caught myself.
You mean to tell me the VA will pay me for that shit? Damn.
@ Sgt Kane. You do know I am Smitty and they should rename Seal Team 6 to Seal Team Smitty, and Army Rangers will from now on be known as Army Smitty’s, and Special Forces will be known as Special Smitty’s, oh I can I foget Marine Recon will for now be known as Marine Smitty’s because I am so tactical.
Wait, I thought it was Smitty Team Six, Smitty’s Rangers, and Recondo Smitty…
I knew about the Special Smitty’s though.
More seriously, I guess my point (that didn’t come through LC) is that I had always thought VA disability was people who struggled to function because of their experiences, not for people who simply had a check list of symptoms and experiences that had manageable impact on their lives.
As I noted above, I have that. Hell, I’ve even made my VA therapist cry, but I’ve never thought of myself as disabled or impaired because of it. As my wife says, its just part of who and what I am now.
Now my knees, yeah, I plan to get a rating for them when I get out, because the Army has done a great job of fucking them up. But I’ll grit through the pain until I’m done (or the Army is done with me).
Testes. Left. Right.
Yow-za. I am no longer a spamazoa. Thanks.
I once caught the PTSD, but it was the 24-hour kind. Rash, nosebleed, sweats, hair loss, and everything.
How soon can he be put in jail so Bubba, Thor, & company can literally straighten his ass out?
2/17AirCav, I’m confused. You have them? Or you lost them and they came back? What?
Now I feel like a real stoop. Back in ’55, the Army chow drove me to the hospital in pain. Fortunately, it was a good AF hospital at Misawa, and they opened me up and extracted my appendix. To this day I still have the scar to prove it. All this time, I could have been getting big bucks for having been scarred for life by the military. This is silly, I know, but it sure is in line with what some of these frauds actually make work for them. As an aside, I am actually one of those who had their records destroyed by fire. My county clerk still has a copy of my original 214 in their files though, so all was not lost.
@16 Just posted a book review on Amazon. Looking forward to the next one.
I’m feelin’ kinda left out here. I went through my whole time in service with all kinda injuries, but none of them were unfixed when I was done. Guess I’m just not a good enough liar to make ’em work for any VA bennies…
Sorry, that should have been @15. Fingers slipped.
@ #16: My Dad retired in ’56 and his records went up with yours. He’s the one who taught me to keep a copy of everything during military service. He had, and they sure came in handy. (I still have his original enlistment papers!)
I am not breaking any new ground here, but Jesus H. Christ, the VA is a goddamn goat rodeo. Can’t take care of the claims of the truly injured but get scammed out of 18,000 thousand dollars by this douche nozzle.
Who the fuck is in charge and more importantly, why the fuck do they still have a job???
That’s what always baffles me. How is it that real soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines have to perform the most ridiculous dances for years on end to get benefits, and then asswipes like this waltz in front, tell ridiculous stories, show a little forged documentation, and collect the big bucks? I’ve never served in the military, but when I was in the sea cadets (not in any way comparable, of course), I had to read the regulations for writing special request chits, citation writing, log/record keeping, etc., and fill out a ridiculous amount of documentation myself. I can’t even imagine the breadth of the paper trail you’d have to forge to successfully scam the VA, and the insider knowledge you’d have to have of the military (language and organization) to tell the VA people so they’d think you were for real. This guy might have the latter from his time in, but still; the paperwork problem is still there. And even if you could forge all the requisite stuff, there’s still no way it would check out at the back end. It would all fall apart as soon as they cross referenced it against any official database or the NPRC.
So; how are all these shitbags getting away with it? Is it some form of identity theft where you, I don’t know, find a guy who’s been killed in one of the wars who’s about your age, tell civilian authorities like the DMV you’re him, get issued a driver’s license with his name/info, then build a fake ID to go to the VA with? The fact that so many people are getting away with this while real vets are out in the cold is a national scandal. I’d dearly love the VA’s explanation…
You have absolutely no idea, proof, or any other reason to believe Mr. Prado is guilty of fraudulent statements or claims. For Prado to get a position at Chafettz’ office, I would assume his office was smart enough to complete Due Diligence and a Background Check before hiring Prado. Perhaps you should look at THAT perspective.
YOU, and many others on this site, appear to be low-information individuals with limited vocabulary and education.
I have a deceased brother who was life-time Marine with rank, purple hearts, and PTSD. He was a tough guy, hit the beaches first many times, went back for more and didn’t quit until his body couldn’t take anymore. I’m sure some of you may have experienced some type of trauma as well. How would YOU feel if someone made uninformed, illiterate comments demeaning your service and/or injuries?
If you have served your country honorably, respect others who have also done so. Prado now has taken his own life and is standing before the ultimate Judge. The truth is with him now. I’d like to see the truth come out here also, so that Prado is not vilified by the press and those who know nothing about the situation. We don’t know what the pain was that caused him to take his life, but it certainly was not worth it. He has loving friends and family who would support and help him whether innocent or guilty. He saw a lot of them push him away and he felt abandoned, alone, hopeless. He was working so hard to finish his education to make his life better. In December the press said horrible things about Prado publicly. Were they true or not? Did anyone have a thought of what damage this could do to Prado, especially if he is not guilty? Freedom of Press……
Vilify Prado if you have the facts to do so, but if not, I’d be looking INWARD.