Three Plead Guilty to Filing False VA Disability Claims

When you read this, you are bound to be upset. So am I. I can't stand it when people do things like this but the reality is, they do. What we need to think about though is for as long as the DAV has been around, there have been very few stories about this kind of fraud. It also as me wondering if people like this were behind some of the frauds recently in the news getting VA disability when they were not even veterans. The other factor is that without the help of the DAV, a lot of claims would not have been approved because it is way too complicated to figure any of it out. Plus, I personally now know many service officers with the DAV. They are great people and both of us became life members after they helped him with his claim. I think the few in it for themselves should all be found because the vast majority of them are in it to help veterans, as it should be.

Department of Justice Press Release
For Immediate Release
August 18, 2009 United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Kentucky
Contact: (502) 582-5911

Three Plead Guilty to Filing False VA Disability Claims Resulting in Nearly $2 Million in Losses
Parker Also Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $47,000 from the Disabled American Veterans Service Organization
http://www.greasyonline.com/article199.html


LOUISVILLE, KY-Daniel Ryan Parker, age 38, of Santa Rosa, Florida, (formerly
of Crestwood, Kentucky), Jeffrey Allan McGill, age 38, of LaGrange,
Kentucky, and Michael D. Harper, age 52, of Scottsville, Kentucky, pled
guilty on August 17, 2009, to conspiring to defraud the United States and
paying and accepting bribes, Acting United States Attorney Candace G. Hill
of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.

Parker was the National Service Office Supervisor for the Disabled American
Veterans Service Organization (DAV) in Louisville, Kentucky, and one of
Parker's responsibilities was to assist veterans in their pursuit of
military related disability benefits. McGill was a Veteran Service
Representative with the VA regional office in Louisville, Kentucky, and
among other things was responsible for reviewing and rating VA disability
claims.

Parker and McGill admitted that between November 2003 and November 2008,
they recruited friends, relatives, and acquaintances, including Harper, who
were military veterans, to file false and fraudulent disability claims with
the VA. Parker and McGill either altered the veterans' medical records or
created counterfeit medical records, to give the appearance that the
veterans had service related disabilities, resulting in the veterans
receiving fraudulent disability benefits for alleged problems such as
hearing loss, depression or cancer.

When the VA approves a disability claim, it pays benefits dating back to the
original date the claim was received. In addition to falsifying medical
records, Parker and McGill also admitted that they fraudulently backdated
claims, resulting in large fraudulent lump sum retroactive disability
payments, which in several instances were over $60,000. The veterans who
participated in the scheme paid kickbacks to Parker and McGill, usually
two-thirds of their lump sum payments. The participating veterans kept the
fraudulent lifetime monthly disability payments they received. The scheme
resulted in losses of nearly $2 million.

Michael Harper is a veteran of the United States Navy, and is McGill's
uncle. Harper also pled guilty, admitting that in 2004 he submitted a
fraudulent disability claim to the VA alleging that he suffered from
military service related major depression and degenerative disk disease of
the lumbar spine. That application was fraudulent in that Harper did not
have major depression. Parker and McGill backdated Harper's false claim to
reflect that it was received on January 13, 2003.

Later in 2004, Parker and McGill placed a counterfeit examination report in
Harper's file, which falsely reflected that Harper had service related major
depression. On October 8, 2004, based on the counterfeit examination report,
the VA granted Harper 70% disability for major depression and 10% disability
for degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine. On October 27, 2004, the
VA paid Harper over $20,000 in retroactive disability payments, calculated
from the false January 13, 2003 date on his claim. Harper also began
receiving over $1,100 per month in fraudulent disability payments.

Harper admitted that in November 2004, he paid McGill over $10,000 in cash
as a kickback for the fraudulent disability claim. Harper knew that McGill
worked for the VA, and knew that the kickback was being paid to McGill to
influence McGill in the performance of his official duties. McGill later
shared that kickback with Parker.

In addition to pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States
and bribing McGill, Parker also pleaded guilty to stealing over $47,000 in
checks made payable to the Disabled American Veterans Service Organization
between December 2004 and March 2007.

Fourteen defendants, including Parker, McGill, and Harper, were indicted in
November 2008. To date, eight defendants have pled guilty. Trial for the
remaining defendants is scheduled to begin on September 22, 2009.

The maximum potential penalties for Parker are 50 years' imprisonment, a
$1,250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years. The
maximum potential penalties for McGill are 30 years' imprisonment, a
$750,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years. The
maximum potential penalties for Harper are 20 years' imprisonment, a
$500,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Weiser,
and it was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the
Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The pleas were entered before Jennifer B. Coffman, Judge, United States
District Court, Louisville, Kentucky. Judge Coffman has ordered a
presentence investigation. Sentencing should be scheduled in approximately
eight to ten weeks after the trial