bobdina
07-21-2009, 01:22 PM
Stolen valor : Fraudulent DD-214s may be common
By William H. McMichael
bmcmichael@militarytimes.com
Simply claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient is one thing. Claiming that status on a falsified government form is another.
There’s no way to know how often fakers use falsified forms to illicitly procure government benefits, preference for admission to schools or, as in a recent case in Florida, an undeserved state license plate emblazoned with “Medal of Honor.” That individual has been indicted for violating a federal law, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.
But news reports and private sector military-honors watchdogs indicate the practice is still wide spread — and that the means is often an altered or counterfeit DD214, the form distributed upon discharge from military service that contains a concise capsule of a service member ’s career.
Many private watchdogs spend long hours hunting down those who for self-aggrandizement claim military service and high decorations — to gain an edge in a political campaign, for instance.
But fakers use false DD-214s, easily modified or created using a computer, to get benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department. In a 2007 case, investigators caught eight people who were receiving VA compensation for combat injuries — although none had served in combat and two had never served in the military. Their acts collectively cost VA $1.4 million.
“That’s eight individuals in the Seattle area, in one bust,” said Doug Sterner, a longtime private watchdog who now maintains the Military Times Hall of Valor database. “Now, extrapolate that across the nation, and imagine the millions of dollars that this runs into.” VA’s disability-claims division does not track the number of fraudulent claims it receives, but turns all cases over to its own inspector general, according to Phil Budahn, a VA spokesman.
Such claims have gained publicty in recent years. That’s largely because of the efforts of people such as Sterner and B.G. Burkett, author of “Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History.” The Internet has brought about greater access to public records.
Still, James O’Neill, VA’s assistant inspector general for investigations, said he hasn’t seen much of an increase in his office’s fraud traffic since he began his work in 2004. “It’s been fairly steady,” he said, adding that the use of fraudulent DD-214s is “common” in such efforts and typically involves an altered or counterfeit document.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a decorated Vietnam War veteran, wants a better system and has asked VA to look into the issue of misrepresentation of service.
“Forging or altering DD-214s to receive VA and other benefits has been cited repeatedly in media reports, in-depth studies and official investigations,” he said. “Since these allegations go to the very core of military service, I have asked the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to examine them and let me know the results.” The problem could be easily solved, Sterner maintains, with a public database that any agency could access and, with a couple of keystrokes, check the legitimacy of a person’s claim.
In a 2004 National Personnel Records Center feasibility study, the agency concluded that every DD-214 issued since 1947 could be digitized at a cost of $12 million, resulting in $4 million of savings annually, Sterner said. The only missing piece would be the 18 million military records that were damaged or destroyed in a 1973 fire at the records center in St. Louis.
But Sterner said that by digitizing the general orders filed in College Park, Md., much of the information lost in the fire could be recovered. “The two [sets of records] could work hand in glove and be very effective in establishing a database that would serve multiple purposes,” he said
Navy times printed edition
By William H. McMichael
bmcmichael@militarytimes.com
Simply claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient is one thing. Claiming that status on a falsified government form is another.
There’s no way to know how often fakers use falsified forms to illicitly procure government benefits, preference for admission to schools or, as in a recent case in Florida, an undeserved state license plate emblazoned with “Medal of Honor.” That individual has been indicted for violating a federal law, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.
But news reports and private sector military-honors watchdogs indicate the practice is still wide spread — and that the means is often an altered or counterfeit DD214, the form distributed upon discharge from military service that contains a concise capsule of a service member ’s career.
Many private watchdogs spend long hours hunting down those who for self-aggrandizement claim military service and high decorations — to gain an edge in a political campaign, for instance.
But fakers use false DD-214s, easily modified or created using a computer, to get benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department. In a 2007 case, investigators caught eight people who were receiving VA compensation for combat injuries — although none had served in combat and two had never served in the military. Their acts collectively cost VA $1.4 million.
“That’s eight individuals in the Seattle area, in one bust,” said Doug Sterner, a longtime private watchdog who now maintains the Military Times Hall of Valor database. “Now, extrapolate that across the nation, and imagine the millions of dollars that this runs into.” VA’s disability-claims division does not track the number of fraudulent claims it receives, but turns all cases over to its own inspector general, according to Phil Budahn, a VA spokesman.
Such claims have gained publicty in recent years. That’s largely because of the efforts of people such as Sterner and B.G. Burkett, author of “Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History.” The Internet has brought about greater access to public records.
Still, James O’Neill, VA’s assistant inspector general for investigations, said he hasn’t seen much of an increase in his office’s fraud traffic since he began his work in 2004. “It’s been fairly steady,” he said, adding that the use of fraudulent DD-214s is “common” in such efforts and typically involves an altered or counterfeit document.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a decorated Vietnam War veteran, wants a better system and has asked VA to look into the issue of misrepresentation of service.
“Forging or altering DD-214s to receive VA and other benefits has been cited repeatedly in media reports, in-depth studies and official investigations,” he said. “Since these allegations go to the very core of military service, I have asked the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to examine them and let me know the results.” The problem could be easily solved, Sterner maintains, with a public database that any agency could access and, with a couple of keystrokes, check the legitimacy of a person’s claim.
In a 2004 National Personnel Records Center feasibility study, the agency concluded that every DD-214 issued since 1947 could be digitized at a cost of $12 million, resulting in $4 million of savings annually, Sterner said. The only missing piece would be the 18 million military records that were damaged or destroyed in a 1973 fire at the records center in St. Louis.
But Sterner said that by digitizing the general orders filed in College Park, Md., much of the information lost in the fire could be recovered. “The two [sets of records] could work hand in glove and be very effective in establishing a database that would serve multiple purposes,” he said
Navy times printed edition