Idaho National Guard LT Accused of 10 Year Fraud

This person was a Lieutenant in the Idaho National Guard. Think about that for a second. This person also stands charged with fabricating wounds he did not receive while serving in Iraq. He did a lot more damage than just taking money, if all this is true. If all this is true, then the men under his command, really wounded and trying to get benefits for real wounds just suffered the ultimate betrayal.

Feds: Snoqualmie coach lied his way into Purple Heart
Former Idaho National Guard member accused of stealing $250,000 in government benefits SEATTLEPI.COM
BY LEVI PULKKINEN STAFF
January 29, 2015

Wright hired his sister, Karen Bevens, as his caretaker; Bevens, a 43-year-old Duvall resident, now faces a single fraud count.

A Snoqualmie man accused of duping the Army into awarding him a Purple Heart now faces fraud charges.

Federal prosecutors claim Darryl Lee Wright managed to steal $250,000 in government benefits during the past 10 years. Wright, 46, is alleged to fraudulently put himself forward as a wounded Iraq veteran to gain some of the money.

A federal grand jury returned a nine count indictment against Wright in November. The allegations were unsealed Wednesday; Wright is alleged to have defrauded the Veterans Affairs Department, the Army and the U.S. Commerce Department, among other federal agencies.

At the height of the fraud, Wright and his sister were receiving $10,341 a month in undeserved government benefits, according to the indictment. They did so while Wright worked, coached basketball and ran for public office.

According to the indictment, Wright claimed to have suffered traumatic brain injury during an Aug. 30, 2005, rocket attack while he was serving in Iraq as a lieutenant with the Idaho National Guard.

Wright ultimately received a Combat Action Badge – a decoration reserved for soldiers who’ve been under fire – and a Purple Heart signifying a battle wound.
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Think about the stories we've read over the years about claims not being approved and wounded suffering for their service. Here's a reminder in case you forgot.
Some from Idaho killed in Iraq 2005

• Army Sgt. Kelly S. Morris, 24, of Boise, was killed by small-arms fire March 30, 2005, while patrolling in east Baghdad.
• Army Sgt. John B. Ogburn III, 45, of Fruitland, died May 22, 2005, in a Humvee accident near Kirkuk, Iraq.
• Army Staff Sgt. Virgil R. Case, 37, of Mountain Home, died June 1, 2005, in Kirkuk, Iraq, of non-combat-related injuries.
• Army Spc.Carrie French, 19, of Caldwell, died June 5, 2005, in Kirkuk when her vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
• Marine Lance Cpl. Dustin V. Birch, 22, of St. Anthony, was one of five Marines killed in a roadside bombing June 9, 2005, in Haqlaniyah, Iraq.
• Army Sgt. Ivan Vargas Alarcon, 23, of Jerome, died Nov. 17, 2005, in Tal-Afar, Iraq, when the Humvee he was riding in flipped during combat operations.

The Denver Post has a reminder of some of what people have forgotten. Here are just a few of the images they collected of war in Iraq.

A U.S. soldier carries an Iraqi girl away from the scene of three explosions September 30, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq. Three separate explosions near a U.S. military convoy which was passing the opening ceremony for a sewage station killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 100 others in southern Baghdad according to Iraqi police. (Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images)

Although wounded, Staff Sgt. Shannon Kay, of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, fires on an enemy position after being attacked with a car bomb, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Army Times, M. Scott Mahaskey, via USA Today)

U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Troy Hawkins of the 1st Cavalry, Task Force 1-9, falls to the ground after being wounded during a firefight while on patrol with an Iraqi Army unit February 16, 2005 in the Haifa Street neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. After being tended to by a medic he continued to fight in the narrow streets. The U.S. Army was handing control of the volatile area over to the Iraqi military as they continued to decrease their involvement in the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)