VA claim fraud received over $9,000 a month

Holland man, 56, charged with fraud in getting VA, workers’ comp benefits
Buffalo News
NEWS STAFF REPORT
March 2, 2014

The defendant was already receiving benefits for the service-related injury and was appealing for a significant increase in those benefits, Hochul said.

A Holland man has been charged with receiving benefits from the Veterans Administration and workers’ compensation under false pretenses, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced.

Richard L. Klaffka, 56, was charged with making false statements, mail fraud, wire fraud and fraud.

Conviction on the charges could carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Klaffka has been receiving more than $9,000 per month in tax-free benefits from both government entities as a result of his false claims, according to the complaint.

Beginning in 2008, Klaffka told the Veterans Administration that, as a result of an injury connected with his military service in 1978, he was confined to a wheelchair and unable to engage in everyday activities such as walking, driving and dressing himself or both, according to the criminal complaint.
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