Veteran ordered to pay back government over false claim

Surfside Beach man ordered to pay around $500,000 back to federal government

A Surfside Beach man was sentenced in federal court on Thursday for theft of government funds.

Frank C. Vass, Jr., 56, of Surfside Beach, was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $483,532.25 in restitution to the Veterans Affairs Administration and to the Social Security Administration, according to the U.S attorney's office in Columbia.

Evidence presented at the hearing established that Frank filed false claims and lied to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs about his physical condition by claiming that he was only able to walk a few steps at a time and required to remain in a wheelchair all other times.


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