Navy Veteran Commits $830,000 in Disability Fraud
John Cicero Hughes pleaded guilty. Photo from Getty Images.
John Cicero Hughes inflated his disability in order to maximize what he received from the VA and Social Security.
From the Army Times:
HELENA, Mont. — A 46-year-old Columbia Falls man has admitted overstating his disabilities to receive government payments for nine years.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says it will seek $830,000 in restitution from John Cicero Hughes, a Navy veteran who pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to theft of government money and Social Security disability fraud. Sentencing is set for April 12.
Prosecutors say the VA found Hughes was 100 percent disabled in 2009 after confirming his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. He said he could walk only a few steps, had no feeling in his left arm and leg and couldn’t care for himself. He received about $8,400 in benefits each month.
Investigators discovered Hughes drove himself to the VA in Helena in January 2018, walked around a grocery store using a cane and used both hands while gambling at a Helena casino.
Thanks to AnotherPat for the story.
Category: Shitbags
Well, at least he went big. I’ll give him that. He’s 46 and his life as he knew it is now effectively over. He said he had no feeling in his left arm. I would have accidentally stuck that arm with a pin about eight years ago. How the hell does someone get away with this for so long? Or should I be more surprised that he ever got caught. Five gets you ten it was the Social Security Disability fraud that did him in, not the VA fraud.
VA Fraud is easy. 2 neighbors who never saw combat and nothing wrong with them are receiving 100% disability. Find a crooked VSO lawyer with his crooked doctors and you are home free. Hell, the VA will not investigate.
My Ranger husband was heavily exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He has NO feeling in his arms and legs because of the neuropathy and diabetes. He has fought the criminals at VA for ten years. He is a Combat Vet. We also have a neighbor who NEVER left the states who is 100% disabled from PTSD.
Uncle Sugar ain’t gonna get that 830K back; bet most of that loot have already filled the coffers of various casinos from one end of MT to the other…
Sounds a lot like my pos brother, I think he has scammed at least this much. But SS is the one that probably got him, the VA just doesn’t seem to care?
From the US Dept. of Justice press release dated 12/14/2018:
“Hughes, a Navy veteran, was determined in 2009 to be 100 percent disabled by the VA based on confirmation of a prior diagnosis that he suffered from multiple sclerosis. Hughes represented he had total loss of both hands and feet in addition to other maladies. From 2009 through July 2018, Hughes received more than $7,000 a month from the VA.”
“In addition, because the VA had rated Hughes 100 percent disabled, he qualified for SS disability insurance benefits. The Social Security Administration paid Hughes and some of his family members about $1,400 a month from 2009 until the present.”
There are probably more out there, thinking they will never get caught…or if they do, get a light slap or claim they thougth they were entitled to it based on their service.
Personality Disorder. Greedy Little Ducks. The Love of Money is the Root of All Evil.
Hopefully, VA and SS will get on the ball and clean up this mess. There are STILL Phony POWs out there, especially from Vietnam, who are trying to collect or have collected disability from VA and SS based on their bogus stories. One of them who got caught was CSM Rick Cayton. rgr769 and the POW Network are aware of Cayton’s story.
Who know…Forgin Frank may be collecting VA and SS funds for his “wounded knee”. The same with Killer Killam..😉
Thank You, thebesig for posting this story…and WW, I do hope oneday your brother will be caught.
No problem. Keep the leads coming, I’ll try to get as many posts in, as I can, from the links that you guys find.
Total douchebag. Getting his nose in that goobermint cheese.
Not bad….$101,000 per year and tax free. FOR LIFE.
And COLA for life.
For doing nothing. Except keep the scam going.
All he had to do was keep a low profile…
Roughly the equivalent of a 30yr TIS 0-6 pension. Better actually, because it’s tax free.
POS. Another example of why we can’t have nice things. I had a TIA (mini stroke) in March. It could have been worse. Two nights and three days in the hospital, multiple poking, prodding, mri-ing, cat scanning, and tests. Doctors said the only things that saved my happy ass was recognizing what was happening, seeking immediate medical attention, and being in very good physical condition. A boatload of paper work and certification from several doctors put me on short term disability from the company. Had an adverse reaction to a medication and an “incident, stroke like symptoms” in May. Four days and three nights of rinse and repeat. This extended the short term disability. Since then I have had to go back and be poked, prodded, and tested about every six weeks to recertify my inability to do my job. Am gradually getting better, but will probably never be what I was. Point being, the company was insisting that the claim of disability was backed up by a medically verifiable condition. I’m old enough to retire and draw my SS, 401K, and some pension $, but don’t want to. I liked my job and I certainly liked the fat paycheck. Second main point to this ramble. Ex wife # 2 was a legal secretary, and pretty good at it. The law firm that she worked for, among other legal work, did SSI work. Some of the legal beagles here know where this is going. It would amaze you how many “disabilities” the SS Admin will allow for people who have never worked a day in their life to draw hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month. Biggest scam in the country now a days. Claim a “disability”, file for benefits, it rocks on for months, the lawers have “tame” doctors that will certify the person is “disabled” the government finally approves it, pays back pay to the time of initial claim and the lawer gets a cut of the back pay. SSI is what is draining away the funds from the SSA. That and the fact that congress critters… Read more »
If you are at full retirement age you can get your SS benefits AND your “fat paycheck” and not lose any money from your SS benefits:
Another bonus is that while working, you are still paying into the SS, so they recalculate your benefits every year. Your SS benefits will continue to accrue until you retire from your job.
I just started doing it now: Government salary; army retirement; [FULL] SS benefits. ….. Ohhhhh yeah, baby! Can’t wait to see how much tax I am going to owe!
It’s nice to see these thieves get caught. But I always feel that they are simply the scum that floated to the top of the pond and got caught. There are more hiding underneath.
Greed knows no boundaries.
He had the diagnosis before the VA and they confirmed it.
I wonder what they reviewed?
I also wonder how he got caught. Jaded-ex? Welsh on abet? Bragging?
MS is a debilitating disease that takes its toll mentally and physically and this asshat is playing it up. He could very well have MS but exasperating the symptoms? Seems like someone in the VA did not do there job.
the only thing I can say is that M S is a disease that has remissions and flare ups.
I have seen patients go from being wheelchair bound to walking to then dying.
I suppose you are expected to file a change of circumstances when you get better and again when you get worse.
He’s got MS, so at some point, it’s probably going to get real bad, and I’m going to guess the VA’s not going to help him out at that point. I’d assume he has his good days and his bad days, and that a fair few people think his good days are way too good. I don’t know all the facts, but it seems to be it should be about how bad his bad days are, and this story focuses on the opposite.
Granted those people who don’t believe him are a lot closer to the situation and probably have some extra facts, but with what is presented, I find it hard to get too down on the guy.
I do.
The wheelchair is too much.
Some dudes have no legs and must use them.
There are good days and there are bad says, but lying on the C$P about the severity of MS-related issues is bad. And he admitted it. Lets not overlook that fact.
One last thing, if the VA is prosecuting this to get their money back, I would be curious as to if the original diagnosis was faked, if the VA confirmation diagnosis was incomplete or just simply marked as affirmative by a less-than-competent rater or if the disease (if he has it) was not service-connected.
HITF is he receiving $92,000 dollars a year from VA and SSI?
VA disability automatically gets you SSDI.
SSDI automatically gets you Medicare.
The SSDI turns into SS retirement at 65 and the Medicare keeps on going like nothing happened.
VA is not only non taxable, it is non reportable. SS is not taxable except for any excess because of other income.
It’s great work if you can get it.
I am in the wrong line of work
A few years back, I visited an Army buddy near Helena. While there we went gambling and won a few bucks. I wonder if some of the winnings came from his disabled hands?
He really gives meaning to “limping in” on a poke hand.
YOSE ALL IS JELL-US BECUZ ME BUDDEE TOM HAZ CONGRESAL MEDAL OF HONOR AND NUNYA HAS WON.
i NOW HEIZ LEGITS I WAS THEYRE.
eNEMY SUB FIRED TORP AT ME. HE BANGED HIS TANK WITH RENCH SO IT WULD SHIFT TARGET TO HIM. HE DOGGED IT AND AS IT WENT BYE HE SLASHED ITS PRUPILLSRDS OF WITH HIS FROBIS COMBATS/DIVEING NYFE. THE TORP PILOT SCREMED FOR HALP. TOOS LATE, BIATCHES! TOM CHASD DOWN SUB AND STABBED SUB UNTIL IT SINKS! TOM ONLY SAILOR IN NAVVEE WITH 100% LEGIT TATU OF SUB SLASHED THROO.
TOM = PLANKOWNER SEAL TEAM ZERO!