Stolen Valor fraud
The Tampa Bay Times writes about the fraud with which the Department of Veterans Affairs deals on a fairly regular basis.
They illustrate the problem with the case of Joshua Bork who got an other-than-honorable discharge in less than 180 days and went straight to the VA and parlayed it into a 10% disability payment for some back pain. He kept going back until he found someone who jacked it up to 100%. All the while, he was teaching martial arts.
Eventually, the Office of the Inspector General busted him but not until he had collected $89,278 from them. The Times reports some of the other criminals who have been busted;
In 2007, when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was a U.S. attorney, his office went after Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy for faking a parachute injury and exaggerating his Army record from Vietnam to collect $24,683.
Levy got probation.
Navy veteran Ronnie Glenn Eddings, 43, of Fayetteville, N.C., is serving five years. He collected $893,739 feigning lower-limb paralysis from Saudi Arabia.
Army veteran Latonya Baldwin of Pensacola, who served in the Persian Gulf War, drew “unemployability” and other benefits totaling $205,402 long after she took a job as a schoolteacher. She’s doing 15 months.
And, closer to home, Danny Crane of Riverview found his inspiration in Afghanistan and Iraq — not that he ever served in those countries.
Crane, 33, obtained VA-paid medical care after falsely claiming he had been shot six times, had 24 plates in his face and had lost vision in his right eye, court records state. Crane altered discharge papers to wrongly credit himself with a Distinguished Flying Cross and two Purple Hearts.
In real life, he was discharged for failure to adapt, and he never made it to the Middle East.
[…]
Last year, the VA’s Office of Inspector General opened 199 stolen valor cases and arrested 144 people.
And yet, they haven’t busted Joseph Cryer.
Category: Phony soldiers, Veterans' Affairs Department
Let’s hope Joshua Bork does long time for this. He’ll need those martial arts skills inside.
I knew this man very very well. He has told me many things about his time in the service and ive seen his purple heart in a case. he means alot to me but knowing now that he lied to me about many of his battle stories really hurts me. we dated for 3 months. And let me tell you. WORST DECISION OF MY LIFE.
If you dated Josh Bork from Venice FL ur lucky u lived. He beat the mother of his daughter while she was pregnant even hitting her in the stomach. She said he would even prostitute himself to men if they needed cash. He was my friend in school. Stay clear of Josh, you lived the first time.
Phony fucks defrauding an incompetent VA for billions of taxpayer bucks in disability…where have I heard this song before ???
Well I hope the VA catches on to Church’s phony disability claim and services he received. He doesnt qualify for VA care or benefits as his only active duty time was for training. I have submitted all of his FOIA to the VA IG. I have been told by family sources that he has a disability claim in and also received knee surgery through the VA.
MSGRetired…thank you Sir for that follow through. I hope they nail his fat ass to the front doors of the VA.
I hope he fries so bad, he’s nothing but a grease spot on the sidewalk.
TRIPLE EXTRA-CRISPY would be nice, and the little turd can blab about his Martial Arts skills to Bubba & Thor, who won’t give a s**t!!
He’s a psychopath, stay Clear of him
I wonder if he got hurt while in AIT? If he did he could use that as a flimsy yet valid excuse to get some VA bennies.
It would help if you knew information for true before you start slicing and dicing someone for hearsay….would have thought you were smarter than that….so how do you explain how a 25 year old outsmarted ALL the medical professionals and ALL the VA folks….guess they are about as smart as YOU!!
Yet how many thousands of other fakes are continuing to draw from the VA?
The VA needs to do a better job in vetting applicants for VA benefits. That would solve most of the problem before it becomes a problem. Many of the processing clerks have no military backgrounds, so they don’t know “what right looks like.” Perhaps a solution would be to hire more veterans, preferably former mid-grade NCOs who know a sob story when they hear it and know what they’re looking at when it comes to DD214s.
The fix would have been to have a system that the VA and DoD shared Veterans Records on. Especially now where all paperwork is electronically produced, to include DD-214’s, etc… It should be a simple matter of requesting a Veterans Discharge to ascertain its credibility for elligibility, and as far as assignments and awards go for proof of actually having been where yo usaid you were, that should be just as easy.
Us older guys whose records were mainly produced on typewriters and punch cards it may not be as easy.
Still though, the prevelance of fraud has got to be far higher than the less than 200 cases they investigated. Outright frauds to embellishers of their records/injuries… I shudder to think of what the actual number could be. You know if the VA really hammered down on it, the reaction would be the VA was out to screw veterans and make it harder on them to get disability though.
There’s a simpler solution than that, rb325th.
1. Have the VA coordinate with DOD to get selected personnel issued CACs and access to the on-line records repositories each service maintains.
2. For records that are pre-electronic (e.g., paper physically stored at NPRC, e.g., those leaving the service prior to approx 2000), station a small number (5 maybe) of VA liaison reps at NPRC w/appropriate access to NPRC records.
3. Require vets applying for any type of bennie whatsoever from the VA to sign a SF180 allowing full access to their military records as a mandatory condition of application.
4. Have the VA get the info required directly from official sources based on the vet’s SF180. Stop accepting a damn thing that the vet himself/herself provides as documentation other than govt-issued documents proving/verifying identity.
This would not fix 100% of eligibility fraud problems, and it could create a few. But it would damn sure make the front-end screening that the VA is supposed to do but does a piss-poor job of actually executing much more effective.
Most of my post was sarcasm, as I wrote I was thinking of the debacle that occured when VA and DoD tried creating a system at the cost of millions of dollars that never came close to working.
I agree with you on the points you made.
There will always be cases where someone did not anotate an incident properly, or not at all…
I really believe the number of fraudulent/exxagerated claims is a massive number that they don’t want to uncover. Kind of like Social Security Disability, where the estimate is that 50% of all claims are fraudulent.
rb325th: I’d guess the over/under on outright fraud at 20%, with maybe another 15% or so embellished/exaggerated. But you’re probably in a position to have a far better feel for the reality than I am.
This is a great idea. I was shocked to see how the VA claims process actually worked.
Problem is, the VSO’s don’t want the VA digging too deep. In fact, if we take time to do that, the backlog would be even bigger. You have to understand that the VA is a gov’t program and as such moves slowly. Compound that with a Union that won’t let management fire incompetant employees and a bunch of special interests (VSO’s) piping up any time you try to streamline the process and you get what you have now. I am a Vet and work for the VA and as much as I used to complain about the VA I now see how much their hands are tied. It’s really sad, to be honest.
I agree Ed, I hate the VA SYSTEM with a passion, but the Vast Majority of people there do everything they can to help you as an individual.
I know Josh. I worked with him at Publix in Venice. Before the Marines he worked at the Publix in Venice. He told us he was dying of a brain tumor then. His back injury comes from a car wreck he had heading to class at MCC. He totalled his car and hurt his back. I could tell you stuff about his time in Boston too lol
LebbenB is 100% correct …. the VA needs to hire Vets and military retirees that can spot a line of bullshit a mile away …. even as a sailor I can somewhat tell when a line of shit is being played to me 🙁
Let’s use Danny Crane as an example. Current VA Clerk: What’s seems to be your problem? Danny Crane: I got shot six times and have 24 plates in my head. Clerk: You poor thing! DC: An’ I gots some o’ dat PSTD. Real bad like. Clerk: How Horrible! Here, take this form and your DD214 to the next window where you’ll get a bagful of money. DC: My what? Clerk: Your DD214, your discharge certificate. DC: Oh, yeah, sure. I gots one o’ those. Same scenario with Crusty Ex-NCO VA Clerk: Ex-NCO: Okay, what’s your major malfunction? DC: I got shot 6 times. Ex-NCO: Is that right (contemplative sip from 10th cup of coffee.) DC: Uh-huh. And I gots 24 plates in my head. Ex-NCO: Lemme see your 214. DC: My what? Ex-NCO: Your DD214. Ya know, that piece of paper that you got when you were discharged. DC: OH! Yeah, I got one of those. Ex-NCO: Let me see it. DC Hands piece of paper to Ex-NCO. Ex-NCO takes another drink of coffee while he examines paper. Ex-NCO: Why are there two different fonts on your DD214? DC: Fonts? Ex-NCO: There’s two different styles of type on your DD214. DC: Yeah, see, this is the way it went down. The lady was typing my DD214 and she ran out of ink and had to finish it on a different printer. Ex-NCO: Ya don’t say. Tell ya what, come with me. The Ex-NCO leads Crane outside to the sidewalk. Ex-NCO: Mr. Crane, if you would, simply walk down the sidewalk to that tree, turn around and walk back. DC: What for? Ex-NCO: Look, we’re almost at the end. Do you want that 100% disability or not? DC: Okay, okay. Thankfully I took my pain meds. (DC sets off down the sidewalk and returns) DC: There. How’d I do? Ex-NCO: Well, with all that metal in your head, I was expecting the magnetic pole to pull your lying ass to the north. But that didn’t happen. So your claim is denied. And since you’re already outside, why don’t you keep walking,… Read more »
I don’t get it. If someone makes a claim, doesn’t the VA check it out first? Or is it a matter of paying first and verifying later?
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2009-04-11-2960821722_x.htm
Still the same. No changes. Story was 2009.
What I wonder is, if the VA knew about this fraud, why were they not stomping a mud hole in the offenders asses instead of telling USA Today about it??
Unfortunately, Master Guns, for VA benefits purposes it’s the VA – NOT DoD – who determines whether someone qualifies as a “POW”. Their criteria does not require that DoD recognize the individual as a POW. “Equivalent treatment” (or some such nebulous bullsh!t term) can be deemed by the VA as “being held under conditions equivalent to that of a POW” and qualify.
Yeah, that’s just plain freaking idiotic. But, unfortunately, Federal law gives the VA – not DoD – the authority to determine whether they qualify as a “former POW” for VA benefits purposes.
So I worked below decks in a boiler room for better part of 10 years … In temps ranging from 110 to 160 degrees … How about that! Never mind, I enjoyed it!
sounds like a good question….only they don’t know what to look for and they certainly don’t stop things until they turn up on the front page of the newspaper with inaccurate information.
One wonders …
One wonders if Phildo is on that list….
I thought OTH disqualified people from any type of benefits
Skysoldier: no. Only a DD is an absolute bar to all VA bennies (a BCD might be, but I’m not positive it is; by law, a DD is).
OTH disqualifies a recipient for some VA bennies, but many others can be awarded at the discretion of the VA after an “individual evaluation” of the veteran’s case. And even if they get nothing else, someone who gets an OTH is authorized treatment for legit service-connected conditions. I don’t think the VA can legally refuse that to someone with an OTH.
The linked story says he got an uncharacterized discharge, which is common for someone who didn’t make it through initial training.
His dad mostly dimed him out in the story – but said that Bork did injure his back during training, and that he was able to function and push through the pain with the help of medication. If that’s true – and I know that’s a pretty big if – the initial 10% rating may have been legit. Even if it was, though, it’s a huge jump from 10 to 100 – the difference between beer money for a pretty healthy guy, and total support for someone whose body has been so damaged by service that he can’t work. Regardless of whether we’re talking about the difference between 10 and 100, or 0 and 100, in Bork’s case that difference equals fraud, and (hopefully) a nice stay in the federal pen.
Long stay, have no fear but the kid doesn’t drink and his beer money has been given to some other old vet!!
Bork the Dork doesn’t look smart enough to teach a dog to shit, let alone teach martial arts.
He can brag about his MA skills to Bubba & Thor when he gets to prison, nut they won’t give a Shit about them, he’ll be “just another pretty little fish” to them and the rest of the inmates!!
Reminds me of the gun background check debate… the proponents love to talk about the large number of people turned down the first time as’preventing criminals fom getting guns’ – they turn awful quiet when you bring up that less than 100 of those have been prosecuted, because as Uncle Joe Biden says, they don’t have time to chase down people who sign a form wrong. VA is every bit as aggressive at chasing the baddies – they claim they don’t have the money, but what they don’t have is the WILL to look at paperwork, flag it if it’s iffy, and prosecute when something criminal appears.
Bring back public floggings….
Can you imagine how much bigger the backlog would be if all of a sudden the VA started to verify what Vets are telling them? Not to mention the VSO’s would be in an uproar every time a Vet is pinned as being a liar. It is what we have made it.
How fricking difficult is it to have every applicant for bennies sign an SF180 to release ALL military records to the VA to verify eligibility? Sure, it would be much easier to simply click a button on a computer, but evidently that option is not available today. In the meanwhile, just tell every applicant that they are being considered for benefits but will receive none until confirmed.
When asked to sign the SF180, many frauds would turn and walk away. Problem solved for those. No, it would not completely solve all the problems, but it would sort out a bunch.
This is what kills me about the VA. I and others get denied for combat injuries – in my case hearing – and they let these yahoos dance right into the system. I am going through the process of appealing now, and it is like pulling teeth. Time to take a 2×4 to this knucklehead.
PFM: that can’t be right. Stolen valor is a “victimless crime”, remember?
Yeah, right; “victimless” my azz. You’ve very precisely identified one of the major reasons why stolen valor matters – and is anything but a “victimless” crime.
Is this considered fraud under section 18 1035 making false statements to obtain health care benefits? It’s not major fraud is it?
So the maximum is 5 years for stealing 90 grand? Or am I missing something under the code…
It’s too bad he can’t receive a beating and then do 5 years…
Well, it seems to me that anything other than an Honorable discharge should be a red flag for the VA when a disability claim is made. How tough would it be to put the hold on such claims pending verification? Maybe very tough, given that this would likely require a regulatory change and the months and months and months that such a route would entail. of course, if the WH (or even the Queen herself) wanted this fast-tracked, it could be.
2/17 Air Cav: the vast majority of the problem isn’t with the claims; it’s a lack of independent verification/validation. I’ll virtually guarantee you that the vast majority of fraudulent claims submitted showed the claimant received an honorable discharge – whether they actually did or not.
Fake documents are easy to produce these days. And unless you’re as stupid as some of the recent “winners” we’ve seen, producing fake documents that pass a cursory screening by someone who doesn’t really know what “right looks like” seems to me to be pretty easy.
My local paper… All I am saying.
I hold off a lot when peeps talk bad on the VA due to the fact I work for the VA (VHA side) and am probably influenced a bit by that fact. However, I am also a Vet and use the VA for my own care. I said it in reply to a few comments already, but can you imagine if the VA started verifying everything a Vet says/claims? You think the backlog is large now, it would be 10x that easily. Not to mention the VSO’s would be up in arms every time a Vet is denied…
We made the VA what it is today. We wanted them to push through every claim we think we deserve and as quickly as possible. I work the healthcare side and see the results. I work Mental Health and daily meet with people who shouldn’t be in my office but they knew what to say for their claim. A little bit of verifying would have helped but they had the DAV right there shaming the VA for denying a Vet. THe VA is in a Damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation and it is annoying to see it from this side.
I see Veterans daily who need to be using Mental Health services but as soon as they get their claim they are gone until they get into some trouble. Then those same Vets go to the media claiming they have a mental health issue and the VA isn’t helping them. It’s ridiculous and I only wish I could tell the media what is really going on.
Just remember: if we want the VA to change we have to give up some things. It’s the gov’t- you can’t expect it to work the way we want. Therefore, if you want every claim verified expect to wait a lot longer for your own claim to be verified behind others.
Ed – it seems like you’re in a really screwed situation. But someone (VA or VSO’s) need to get up off their collective asses and put the effort in to screening these types of people before they start collecting.
Some of the VSO’s do such a shitty job of “screening” people to see if they are actually eligible to be a member (usually at the local level). I’m under the impression that they are more interested in numbers and money (membership dues) and not in verification of people looking to join or needing assistance. How difficult is it to have an individual fill out a SF-180 and wait for verification from NPRC before enrolling or helping out?
IMO, both sides need to find better ways of helping veterans and keeping the fraudsters away.
EdUSMCLeg: I’d buy that argument – but the VA is already required to screen applicants for eligibility today. The problem is that any virtually any documentation provided by the applicant is accepted as valid with nothing more than a cursory glance. Add the fact that many VA employees doing the examining simply don’t really know what “right looks like”, and, well . . .
I am reasonably sure that the systems exist to verify in near-real-time the official military personnel records of any veteran who left the military since 2000. Those records are maintained electronically by the services, and they continue to do so after the individual leaves (though Archive responsibility passes to NARA, the actual records are still maintained by the services). If the VA coordinates with DoD to get appropriate access and requires a signed SF180 allowing same as part of an application, they no longer need to rely on documents from individuals to verify service, type of discharge, etc . . . . Examiners can get documentation of that from official sources instead.
Records from “paper only” days are at NPRC. Liaison officers from the VA at NPRC could be provided to execute that mission. Again: signed SF180 means full access.
I’m guessing that the amount of fraud here easily eats 10% of the VA’s budget. The VA’s budget for 2015 is projected to be around $169 billion. If better front-end screening and verification saves even 2%, that’s over $3 billion that can go towards better service for eligible vets.
EdUSMCLeg, I see your point and agree with it, but when I am told by a VA lab tech that my hearing loss is probably caused by 1-Age (47) and 2-Civilian occupation (Truck Driver) I get a little miffed after being hit by 4 IEDs. Told her that high explosives going off 15′ away from my head might have something to do with it…and of course was denied anyway.
PFM – I think there’s some luck of the draw involved. My VA physical was done by a civilian clinic, and they seemed eager to service connect everything they could. When it came to my hearing, I was straightforward with them. I told them I did have some hearing loss and tinnitus (I have a permanent profile for my hearing), and I said “yes” when asked if I thought firing military weapons over the years might have contributed to it, but I also said that just living for 50 years, going to concerts, etc., also played a big part. And I’ve never gotten up close and personal with an IED! Well, the VA gave me service connection for my hearing loss (albeit with a 0% rating), and 10% for the tinnitus. I must have been lucky to get a very liberal claims examiner, because I definitely got the benefit of the doubt on that one.
SCRAMBLE JOHN GIDUCK!!
Is he shovel-ready?
As somebody who served ’67-’69, I’ve found that while I did get a DD215 a few years ago without too much trouble, I’m told that my medical records are on some floor of some building in Oakland. Seems as though the VA isn’t able to get them and I haven’t been motivated to jump through the hoops to track down stuff that might have some bearing on filing for re-evaluation of my 20% rating. When my daughter entered the VA system after 8 years in USNavy, back in ’06, she was told that Navy records were stored somewhere else.
I ain’t sure that singing a SF180 gets one much these days, but that’s just my experience. Haven’t had much luck going through a VSO, either.
Rob J AlphaCo,4th/47th,9thInfDivUSArmy RVN ’68
I know Josh. He was a Marine less than 30 days after finishing basic training. I thought if it was less than 6 months you get nothing? He told stories of firefights in Iraq, friends committing suicide out on the battlefield ECT. His back injury was from a car wreck on his way to college in 2005-2006. Oh, back then he was dying from a brain tumor…. I broke ties with him years ago, Josh is scary. Be is capable of anything, and I mean anything. I know he beat his wife when she was pregnant too. When he gets out Tampa Bay hasn’t heard the last of Joshua Bork……
I know Josh from high-school, he was into drugs and was always drinking. His mom and dad would always bail him out of trouble and felt his military ‘career’ would straighten him out.
Josh is very impulsive and won’t hesitate to break the law to get what he wants. He was breaking into cars to steal stuff and buy drugs.
Ted (his obnoxious father) is also a bum that hits his wife and kids.