Walter Eatman; phony Vietnam vet in FL
Bobo posted this on Facebook, so I snagged it from him. It’s an Orlando Sentinel story about Walter Eatman, a 69-year-old Vietnam Era veteran who didn’t think he was getting enough loot from Veterans Affairs, so he took his forged DD214 and tried to claim PTS from his imagined experiences;
Eatman, 68, on Thursday pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and making false statements. Prosecutors say he stole about $106,000 in government money and benefits, including mental-health counseling and medication, by lying about his service.
[…]
He originally filed for the benefits in July 2008, claiming he also had combat-related hearing loss and ringing in his ears. He altered his military-discharge papers to reflect the bogus history, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Eatman even tricked a Veterans Affairs psychologist into believing his story and obtained a letter supporting his claim that he could not work, prosecutors said.
Oh, sure the VA will get this clown some benefits, but thousands who deserve those benefits are lined up to get their foot in the door. It reminds me of how much I hate Joseph Cryer and how much I hate that the VA won’t lift a finger to catch the little lying prick.
Eatman also lost a job at a bank for attempting to fulfill a fantasy by starting a prostitution ring back in 1988. He also lost a job as an auxiliary sheriff’s deputy.
Category: Phony soldiers
I will save for Green Thumb the honor of calling this guy what he is…but I will call him something else.
Jackass.
Me too Pineywoods NCO.
Ass wipe
Yet another LSoS defrauding the VA by making false claims about their military service.
But Stolen Valor is a victimless crime – right, SCOTUS?
Dammit I just moved my brother out of St . Cloud. The posers are getting closer. And I do believe Florida is filling up with them. It would be interesting to see a map of the US with little dots of where someone has been exposed.
Not sure I like the new format. Any others? BZ
The new format is ok but I do wish that the comments were numbered.
Don’t need numbering when you can reply directly to a post. 🙂
Yeah, but I liked watching you guys try to hit a specific number.
The down side is that trying to follow a given article’s comments now becomes difficult. If you want to see the new comments to a particular article, formerly you could simply look at the last few comments. Now you have to scroll through the entire discussion to find new replies. Can’t say I particularly like having to do that, but it’s not my call.
Yes. This^. I also liked the numbered comments. Yea, I like the reply to comment better than the old format, but I did like to see how many posts were racked up, like for Ber-Nasty and the fat Round Marine…
Turd.
But no surprise with the VA, though.
In this clown’s case, he probably knew the examiner.
Odd how that works.
Also, being that he is Florida, I am curious if he consults with All Points Logistics.
Cool!
I can reply to myself!?!?!?!!
Ladies and Gentleman, I have just found the best therapy!!!
I have arrived…..
And I can reply to your reply
Ad infinitum. 🙂 🙂
AND…you can now post photos and videos instead of just links!
You keep identifying all these amazing new hires for APL. Commander Monkress oughta be outside your door begging to give you a big, wet, sloppy … Joe. A Sloppy Joe. Yeah, that’s it.
Ah, the magic of self-referential recursion . . . see reply. (smile)
Ah, the magic of self-referential recursion . . . see reply. (smile)
Ah, the magic of self-referen . . . well, you get the idea. (smile)
The unexamined life is not worth living…
Tell that to Phildo.
Well living in Florida I’ve run into numerous individuals with questionable vet status. It seems this particular state is being overrun with these idiots. And they say stolen valor is victimless crime.
I don’t understand why the VA gets duped so much with altered DD-214’s. When I filed my claims back in 2003, it was done online through VONAPP. I did not have to send any records in to the VA. The VA requested all of my records from wherever they were stored, thus leaving out the chance of alteration. My temporary claim was approved in about 5 months back then. It was before the big push on claims due to the current wars. I did not have any of my 201 file with the exception of my DD-214. I realize that folks submit supplemental records but I wonder how the forged “official” documents get by the claims reviewers?
It really does not even matter.
Over half of the examiners and reviewers/raters are not qualified to practice/review.
Most would know the difference between a DD-214 and the Yellow pages.
They say “even tricked a VA psychologist into believing his story” as if doing such a thing was all that hard. The contractors working with the active duty, unless they have active duty spouses, are usually as clueless. The stuff they believe is ridiculous.
The sad thing, as others have noted, is that it is usually the guys that are really struggling that feel guilty for making it home in one piece and downplay their symptoms, resulting in a low rating. The ones renting their clothes and wailing tend to be suspect until proven otherwise.
Fake war hero sentenced to probation, must pay back stolen benefits
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/fake-war-hero-sentenced-to-probation-must-pay-back-stolen-benefits-1.287739
Eatman, known as “Walt” and “Sandman,” was sentenced to five years of probation. He also must pay the government back $53,270 for medical treatment to which he was not entitled. He could have received up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors initially said he stole about $106,000 in government money and benefits, including medication and mental-health counseling for post-traumatic stress syndrome, by lying about having been in combat in Vietnam.
Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara, who sentenced Eatman in his Tampa courtroom, reduced the amount after the Department of Veterans Affairs decided that Eatman did qualify for treatment for hearing problems.
Eatman falsely claimed he received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star after serving in Vietnam, court records show. He was in the service from August 1965 to August 1967, but he was not in combat.
He pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to theft of government funds and making false statements.
Prosecutors started investigating Eatman after he tried to have his Veterans Affairs benefits increased in September 2010, claiming he suffered from PTSD.
Eatman is a longtime member the American Legion who has been active in Post 80 in St. Cloud and has held leadership positions in the state organization.
I have a question = lots of veterans are asking to no avail around town regarding Eatman. If he is on probation for five years, is he supposed to be getting drunk in the American Legion and celebrating HIS victory? How do we find out his terms of probation?
I’d contact the reporter that wrote the story in the Orlando Sentinel
Susan Jacobson sjacobson@tribune.com or 407-540-5981
She might be able to give you the case# or docket#, then you could go to the court and request the documents. Another route would be to contact the Federal Prosecutors’ office and/or their website which might have search functionality. There are some names/resources on this page:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/flm/press/2014/Feb/20140228_Eatman.html
“This case was investigated by United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.”
AND
See Dan Hyatt’s comment above in the Facebook comments. Don’t we have a FakeCPO that lives in Florida and therefore presumably in Amanda C. Kaiser’s AO? As Emeril would say… BAM!