Gambling addicts, psychiatric cases and convicted criminals are among the thieves who have been handed control of disabled veterans' finances by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers investigation has found.
For decades, theft and fraud have plagued the fiduciary program, in which the VA appoints a family member or a stranger to manage money for veterans the government considers incapacitated. The magnitude and pace of those thefts has increased, despite VA promises of reform. Three of the largest scams - ranging from about $900,000 to $2 million - each persisted 10 years or more before being discovered.
In the past six years, the VA has removed 467 fiduciaries for misuse of funds, but only a fraction have faced criminal charges, according to the VA's Office of the Inspector General.
The government has never adequately tracked fiduciaries' thefts from disabled veterans. The inspector general's office says it conducted 315 fiduciary fraud investigations from October 1998 to March 2010, resulting in 132 arrests for thefts amounting to $7.4 million. But a Chronicle analysis of court records and documents obtained though the Freedom of Information Act show the thieves took more $14.7 million since 1998 - nearly twice the amounts reported to Congress.VA spokesman Joshua Taylor says the program is being reorganized, and improvements are being ordered every year.
"VA has taken significant efforts to protect veterans and other beneficiaries in its fiduciary program," Taylor declared.
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Some Vets Money Managed - and Stolen - by Scoundrels
What a damn shame!
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't be surprised. The vultures can smell vulnerabiltiy and if they'll do it to the elderly, they'll do it to Veterans too.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to pay attention to the fact that the VA has removed the fiduciaries, but charged just a few criminally.
ReplyDeleteIf the theft were family theft, you can bet the family would be charged!
LIFE IN PRISON WITH NO CHANCE OF PAROLE - nothing less for anyone who takes advantage of a Veteran - period. I would prefer the death penalty but that would take decades in appeals wasting the taxpayers money - enough is enough.
ReplyDeleteThis tells you about priorities and those who are in positions at the VA should be relieved of their duties and replaced.
For "Examining the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Fiduciary Program: How Can the VA Better Protect Vulnerable Veterans and Their Families?"
ReplyDeleteGO TO HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS:
http://democrats.veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=567
FOR ONE OF MANY HEARING STATEMENTS ON THE VA'S MISMANAGED FIDUCIARY PROGRAM:
http://veterans.house.gov/hearing-transcript/examining-the-us-department-of-veterans-affairs%E2%80%99-fiduciary-program-how-can-the-va
ON THE HOUSE COMMITTEE-VA AFFAIRS WEBPAGE, check out Jacob B. Gadd's statement re: the logistical and bureaucratic problems affecting fiduciary mismanagement and the VA's slow or failed efforts to improve the fiduciary program.