William R. Jones; phony Vietnam veteran faces Federal charges
Our buddy, Andy Kravetz, alerts us to the story of William R. Jones in Geneseo, Illinois. Jones is facing Federal charges for “theft of government funds and making false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to support payment of disability benefits” according to the Department of Justice;
The indictment alleges that Jones, 66…made false statements claiming that he served in Vietnam in the 1970s when in fact, Jones never served in Vietnam. According to the indictment, in July 2013, Jones submitted a form containing false information to the office of U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin to support his claim for veterans disability benefits. The form indicated that Jones had served in combat in Vietnam in 1972; that he was assigned to Special Operations in Vietnam; and that he was shot down in enemy territory and rescued three weeks later by U.S. Marines. In fact, according to the indictment, Jones never served in Vietnam.
In May 2015, on two occasions, to support his request to start veterans disability benefits on an earlier date, Jones allegedly made false statements to employees of Veterans Affairs as follows: that he had an updated military form, a fabricated document Jones allegedly drafted and procured to deceive the Department of Veterans Affairs, that reflected his combat medals; that he was assigned to 10th Special Operations in Vietnam; that he was assigned to conduct drug interdiction missions in the Golden Triangle area of Southeast Asia, and that he was wounded by shrapnel caused by a mortar round while he was a crewman on a Spectre Gunship. In fact, as Jones knew, he was never assigned to any military unit in Vietnam and never served in Vietnam.
I’m not sure how a Spectre gunship crew member would be wounded by a mortar round.
I guess he did his research for the role on Netflix – it’s a Hollywood story. For one count of theft of government funds, Jones is looking at a maximum ten year sentence. For the three counts of making false statements it’s five years each. Both also carry a fine of a quarter-million bucks.
Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures
Gee. That’s . . . just . . . too . . . bad.
(smile)
“In May 2015, on two occasions, to support his request to start veterans disability benefits on an earlier date….” That’s not clear to me. Is there an expedited payment procedure or something? I wonder if that’s what got him–his impatience.
Sounds more to me like he was trying to get Sen. Richard “US Troops are acting like Nazis” Durbin to help him get his VA rating backdated – and thus score a hefty lump-sum payment for back benefits.
Yeah, that makes sense, earlier as in retroactive. Yep. Thanks.
Nice mortar shot. All that is missing is the tiger cage and swimming downriver from Hanoi to Saigon.
(chuckling) I noticed that too. Last time I checked, mortars aren’t exactly the weapon of choice against aircraft unless they’re parked.
Ha! What you don’t know, what you could not possibly know is that the mortar man was actually in the chopper with him! ?
Sneaky Charlie was always stowing away in Spectre gunships.
He intentionally omitted those in case he needed to resubmit at a later date. Don’t worry, we’ll see the tiger cage, long swim, fingernails pulled out, etc. at a later date. He may also claim to have been on the last chopper out. The dishonesty is massive with this one.
Unless he adds in that the swim down river involved clenching a fellow POW’s shirt in his teeth (ala JFK and PT109) for the whole trip, I’m not buying his story./smile
Nah. This one escaped with the Camp Commandant’s wife, daughter and life savings.
That’s one of how many fraudulent claims funneling through the VA system?
If it’s less than 20 percent of total caseload, I’d be surprised.
The VA does not necessarily use medical or psych disability examiners with VA or DoD service, so they fall for whatever they’re told and don’t know how to interpret military records. Don’t even know what an MOS means. I know, I am now a VA disability examiner with 5 yrs DoD experience and 15 years in the VA. No problem spotting the frauds, but you’d at least hope the adjudicators would. Sigh. I’ve interviewed enough real service members and vets to spot a fraud. And stolen valor seriously ticks me off. Too bad they don’t require relevant experience in the examiners. They say they have too many claims to use experienced VA examiners, just an MD or a PhD will do. They say the choice is backlog vs fraud.
It must be easier for us to file FOIA requests than it is for the VA…
I’ve come to believe that the VA doesn’t give a damn any more about protecting the US taxpayer. Rather, every dollar they give away – whether deserved or not – helps them justify increasing their budget. They thus have a vested interest in looking the other way and a disincentive to do any due diligence regarding ensuring that beneficiaries actually are entitled to receive benefits.
Well they could legitimately spend that budget on real vets. That said by parents had decent care from the va
Well, my dad was a helicopter pilot in his second tour, he got hurt by a mortar round…while getting a haircut. Which was a main reason he liked flying, it was safer. (His first tour was as a LRRP)
Maybe that is his story how he got hurt.
Or maybe not. And maybe you haven’t seen your father’s docs. Pilot and LRRP, huh?
To be fair, that is possible… be a grunt in one tour, come out, add apply for WOC get aviation, become a pilot, then go back later. I’ve seen it in the current wars.
Agreed. The huge expansion in Army Aviation during Vietnam made it pretty easy for many who wanted to fly and could qualify for flight school to go.
Also not unknown for folks to go from LRP to other career fields. Knew a guy as a kid who’d done LRP stuff on one tour in Vietnam and ended up as retiring as a medical NCO – after having been RIFed as an officer during the post-Vietnam drawdown.
Comment above meant as a reply to Retired Grunt, not 2/17 Air Cav. Sorry ’bout the brain phart. (smile)
I also knew a guy personally from ROTC that was a non tabbed ranger, went to combat with 3/75 in Panama as an E4 in 89 but then decided to commission as a quartermaster officer. He got pretty lucky though, most guys that year got branch detailed to the infantry but he did not.
lol…whut?
Color me skeptical, but did you see his military records?
Its not impossible, but these days with all the stolen valor and UFO sightings, i don’t trust until verified.
There is the universe of possibles and the planets of very likely, likely, unlikely, and very unlikely within that universe. I recognize that being a bird driver in one tour and a LRRP in the next is within the universe of possibles but it lives on planet very unlikely. Still, I did not accuse. I only asked whether Dad’s docs have been given a look-see.
The more I think about it, the less inclined I am to place it in the universe of possibles. Nevertheless, I must leave it there as it is technically not impossible. The US Army spends a helluvalota money training its pilots and, absent a damn good reason for kissing that training bye-bye and letting someone walk for a living, I don’t see it happening. Moreover, the nature of a LRRP (Ranger or earlier) doesn’t lend itself to adding to their ranks a former pilot who quit that job. No, screw it. It’s killing me that I have to leave this story in the universe of possibles.
Amen to Hondo’s comment above. VA’s primary mission is to survive and grow VA, patients are secondary
(Just to play Devil’s Advocate, if while an air crewman his base was mortared while he was on the ground….)
2/17 – you’re backwards, LRP first tour and pilot the second tour – far more likely. Especially if someone got tired of walking everywhere.
I’m still not buying it. Two badass jobs that phonies love to claim and he’s got ’em both attributed to him. There is no resolution likely so I’ll leave it at that. Of course, if the claim goes public, then the real fun starts–or not.
2-17, I think you are possibly confused or I am WAY TOO DRUNK, lol, but I think the OP says his dad was LRRP first then became a pilot… you are however very right in saying that they are two bad ass easily assumable jobs.
A Spectre gunship?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130
The AC-130 got that name. One was shot down over Laos, but the crew’s remains were recovered in 2008.
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/may272008/mia_recoveries_5-27-08.php
Perhaps Mr. Jones thinks no one keeps track of who was and was not involved in any of that.
Here’s some more on the MIAs for that program.
http://www.ac47-gunships.com/ac47_miakia.htm
There is also the AC-47 known as Puff the Magic Dragon. Here’s a movie, if you just want to look at pictures.
https://youtu.be/OM8vceeaKNo
It’s not completely clear, but it looks as if he may have gotten away with his fraud if he hadn’t gotten greedy. The DoJ press release indicates that he’d started to receive benefits in December 2014. Reading between the lines, it appears that his subsequent efforts to get more back benefits may have led to his getting caught.
Yep. Same reason that guy who’s up big playing poker during the middle of the evening often goes home broke.
Casinos and cops both love greedy fools who don’t know when to say, “That’s enough.”
Hmmm, I wonder how long the class is on Air to Air Gunnery Techniques that teach you how to take out in flight mortar rounds with either a Mini-Gun or the 105 Howitzer?
I’d go to that class even if it was taught by the Air Force. Old school Patriot Missile technology right there.
Oh well. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Fuck. Him.
?????
Shitbag!
Loser.
The All-Points Logistics Retirement Plan.
Shot down in enemy territory and rescued by U.S. Marines, eh?
Hollywood story all the way.
Then the Marines made him do a police call o pick up all of the brass.
And get a god-damn haircut.
GySgt Hack Stone: You have been on Camp Hansen for quite some time, haven’t you?
Cpl Bag O’Donuts: I have been here seven months.
GySgt Hack Stone: So you know your way around base?
Cpl Bag O’Donuts: I sure do!
GySgt Hack Stone: Then why can’t you find the fucking barber shop?
GySgt Hack Stone
VC 1, this is VC 2
FIRE MISSION
From Grid 123456,Direction 260, Right 200, add 5000m elevation
Flying Spectre gunship
Fire for effect!!
Yeah right, dipshit.
You steal the goobermint’s money and they will jack you up. They work hard stealing that money from others and don’t like it when pissants like this jack hole try to get some of their action. Half a million dollars in fines indeed.
“For one count of theft of government funds, Jones is looking at a maximum ten year sentence. For the three counts of making false statements it’s five years each. Both also carry a fine of a quarter-million bucks.”
Unless he gets a judge appointed by Obumbles. Then he’ll get a slap on the wrist and an award of back benefits and a Purple Heart for the PTSD from having to go through all this bother to get someone else’s benefits.
Cocksucker.
His vehicle has a bumper sticker reading “WWFFVD?”
That would be “What Would Forging Frank Visconi Do?”
Sue the Marine Corps…
I sussed the Purple Heart. He dropped a mortar round on his foot whilst airborne.
Totes legit.