Veterans’ Affairs Department
Albert S. Poawui pleads guilty to VA fraud
The Washington Post reports that Albert S. Poawui pleaded guilty in court this week to defrauding the Veterans’ Affairs Department of about $2.2 million in kickbacks; In 2015, Poawui and a vocational counselor at VA agreed Poawui would pay the official a 7 percent cash kickback for VA payments to Atius, ostensibly for vocational training […]
Shulkin out; Jackson in
According to Military Times, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was fired by President Trump and he’s to be replaced by Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson who has been the personal physician of the past three Presidents, after he completed a tour of Iraq at the peak of hostilities in that war. His bio says that Jackson […]
VA Chief of Staff Vivieca Wright Simpson resigns (retires)
Stars & Stripes reports that VA Chief of Staff Vivieca Wright Simpson resigned after she misled an ethics official. VA Chief of Staff Vivieca Wright Simpson called VA Secretary David Shulkin on Friday morning and informed him she was retiring, Shulkin told Stars and Stripes. In addition to the ethical violations, her retirement comes amid […]
Huntington VA dodges bullet
Another Pat sends us a link from MetroNews which reports that the Huntington, West Virginia VA Medical Center was scheduled to get a new director, Doug Paxton, an Oregon VA director who was being transferred because of some controversy at the Roseburg VA facility. According to the New York Times, Paxton was denying treatment for […]
IAVA: Lincoln was sexist
Jonp sends a link from Stars & Stripes which reports that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs responded to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Executive Director Allison Jaslow when she complained about an Abraham Lincoln quote that the agency uses as a motto; The VA has had the same motto for 59 years: “To care […]
Ralph Tillman, VA contract officer, pleads guilty
According to the Justice Department, Ralph Tillman, a 58-year-old contract officer for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in Los Angeles, California, has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and filing a false federal tax return. He was taking bribes from Richard Scott, the owner of Westside Services LLC (WSS), which for years had a contract […]
Phillip Hill, VA employee, charged for selling vets’ PII
One of our ninjas send us a link to the story of Phillip Hill, a Department of Veterans’ Affairs employee who was arrested for selling the personally identifiable information (PII) of veterans to an undercover federal informant. Cody Hiland, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, said in the news release that Hill […]
Trump signs EO “Supporting Our Veterans During Their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life”
The president signed an Executive Order yesterday entitled “Supporting Our Veterans During Their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life” which automatically enrolls service members in Veterans’ Affairs Department mental health programs when they leave the service according to Stars & Stripes; Officials with the Trump administration, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said […]
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