By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press
July 28, 2013
SEATTLE (AP) — A funny thing happened after federal authorities arrested several military veterans last year and accused them of lying about how far they drove to get to medical appointments at the Veterans Administration hospital in Seattle.
A bunch of others who didn't get busted stopped filing for so much money in mileage reimbursements, and the VA hospital began saving tens of thousands of dollars a month, officials say.
"We are taking this benefit-travel fraud seriously because of the amount of money that's going out the door," says James O'Neill, the VA's assistant inspector general for investigations. "When we can publicize the ramifications of committing this fraud and being prosecuted, we can really reduce it."
Ten people, including two VA clerks who admitted taking kickbacks, were charged in federal court in Seattle, and several are due to be sentenced this week. Others have already been given prison terms of up to two years.
Among the recent cases:
— 16 people were indicted in Cleveland last year and charged with stealing a combined $250,000 in fraudulent mileage reimbursements.
— A veteran in Maine pleaded guilty last September to charges of falsely claiming more than $17,000 in travel reimbursements.
—Last April, a veteran in Oklahoma City was sentenced to probation and ordered to return more than $36,000 in false mileage claims.
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