Amid increasing calls for action from Congress and health care advocates, Veterans Affairs leaders on Thursday announced plans to consider adding respiratory illnesses to the list of conditions presumed caused by exposure to military burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas combat locations in recent decades.

The move is a significant albeit preliminary step towards granting new disability payouts and medical benefits for millions of veterans who served in the recent wars, only to return with a host of rare illnesses believed connected to toxic smoke at overseas bases. VA officials don’t have estimates on how much veterans could get in payouts and how much the changes could cost, or even when the work could be complete.

The link between burn pits — used to dispose of excess equipment, human waste and a host of other toxic materials — and serious medical conditions has been widely assumed for years, but not conclusively linked to a specific set of health problems.

About 250,000 veterans have signed up for VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, designed to track illnesses related to burn pit exposure and ease access to Veterans benefits. But advocates have complained that tool is limited, and the actual number of veterans suffering from burn pit conditions is likely several times that figure.

They’ve also pushed for more liberal granting of disability claims connected to burn pits, noting that insufficient monitoring of the smoke has led to numerous questions about which troops were exposed and poisoned.

Earlier this year, VA Secretary Denis McDonough ordered an internal review into the issue, promising to speed up work on the already decade-old problem.

On Thursday, in a press conference with reporters, he promised that officials are “attacking this issue with urgency” and said it has been a frequent topic of conversation with White House officials.

“It breaks all of our hearts that we have veterans who suffer because of the service they carried out on our behalf,” he said. “It makes me particularly saddened to know we have veterans with terminal diagnosis. We are going to spare nothing to generate answers for them.”

A day earlier, at a press conference on Capitol Hill, Veterans advocates praised recent congressional efforts to address the issue but also acknowledged fatalism about the slow pace of reaction to numerous deaths and serious illnesses over the last 20 years.

“More than 8 in 10 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they were exposed to burn pits, and more than 80 percent of those say they’re suffering some health effects from that today,” said Tom Porter, executive vice president of government affairs at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “We have to do this, and we have to do it now.”

McDonough did not offer a timeline for when veterans might start seeing new benefits from the move announced Thursday. He promised to “respect the rulemaking process,” which can take several years in some cases.

Congress may not wait that long.

Officials from the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday unveiled plans to make 23 respiratory conditions and rare cancers contracted by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans automatically eligible for disability benefits, and expect to advance the legislation next month.

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee members later in the day unanimously advanced a similar plan with fewer presumptive conditions but a similar approach to granting wider benefits access to all veterans who served near burn pits. Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., has said he hopes the two chambers can pass a final compromise plan by the end of the year.

If they do, the VA work may form the procedural backbone for implementing those changes. VA’s announcement noted that the conditions being reviewed “may include asthma, sinusitis, and rhinitis” and will cover “military service in Southwest Asia, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.”

Officials also pledged to engage veterans advocates in coming months on how to shape the new benefits rules.

“This is the beginning of this effort,” McDonough said. “We will continue to work aggressively at identifying the available science … to make sure we’re getting all we can.”

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Save 10% off lowest fare options

Amtrak Passenger Discount for Military Veterans

Veterans receive a 10% discount on the lowest available rail fare on most Amtrak trains.

Use the Fare Finder at the beginning of your search on www.amtrak.com and select ‘Military Veteran’ for each passenger as appropriate to receive the discount.

Military Personnel Save 10% and Get Ahead of the Ticket Line

With valid active-duty United States Armed Forces identification cards, active-duty U.S. military members, their spouses and their dependents are eligible to receive a 10% discount on the lowest available rail fare on most trains, including for travel on the Auto Train.

Just use the Fare Finder at the beginning of your search on www.amtrak.com and select ‘Military’ for each passenger as appropriate to receive the discount.

Additionally, Amtrak supports and thanks troops by welcoming uniformed military personnel to the head of the ticket line.

Discount Limitations

• The Veteran/military discount is not valid with Saver Fares or weekday Acela trains.
• The Veteran/military discount does not apply to non-Acela Business class, First class or sleeping accommodation. Veterans can upgrade upon payment of the full accommodation charges.
• The Veteran/military discount is not valid for travel on certain Amtrak Thruway connecting services or the Canadian portion of services operated jointly by Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada.
• The Veteran/military discount may not be combined with other discount offers; refer to the terms and conditions for each offer.
• Additional restrictions may apply.

Visit www.amtrak.com for more information.

The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on part of the VA.

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In the months since Andrey Kukushkin was indicted for allegedly funneling foreign money to U.S. political candidates, few details have emerged about the Ukrainian national's cannabis investments in California.

Kukushkin has been far quieter than his co-defendant, Lev Parnas, who has been giving interviews about his controversial work in Ukraine and was secretly recorded speaking with President Donald Trump about U.S. marijuana policy, among other things.

But Kukushkin appears to have been far more involved in the pot industry beyond his stake in a Sacramento cannabis dispensary. A company led by Kukushkin has been talking to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs about a five-year medical-marijuana research agreement to study treatment for cancers.

The proposed agreement between the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Francisco and Kukushkin's company, Oasis Venture LLC, sheds new light on Kukushkin's influence on the cannabis industry throughout Northern California, as well as his potential access to officials with ties to the Pentagon.

One of Kukushkin's partners in Oasis Venture, Dr. Rajvir Dahiya, is chairman of the Defense Department's medical research programs in prostate, breast and ovarian cancer. He is also a urology professor at UC San Francisco and the VA Medical Center in San Francisco.

Kukushkin and three others were indicted in October on charges of planning to funnel foreign money to political candidates in Nevada and other states to gain entry into the legal cannabis business. His co-defendants include businessman Parnas, whose efforts to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine are at the core of Trump's impeachment.

The indictment makes no mention of the research project, which was first revealed this week by Politico.

A spokesman for the San Francisco VA Health Care System told Politico in a statement that the proposed agreement was rejected by the system's research review work group. "The San Francisco VA Health Care System does not have a relationship with the group in question," said spokesman Jason Dominguez told the news site.

But one of Kukushkin's Oasis partners, Chuk Campos, told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that as far as he knows, the VA is still considering the partnership despite Kukushkin's legal problems.

The research would "do a lot of good for a lot of people," Campos said. "It's focused on cancer." The cannabis plants would be grown on a ranch near Livermore.

Campos said Kukushkin has agreed to step aside from Oasis "if he's found guilty of anything." The New York lawyers defending Kukushkin didn't respond to requests for comment. All four defendants have pleaded innocent to the federal charges. Efforts to reach Dahiya were unsuccessful.

Connections to foreign investor

The federal indictment against Kukushkin and his co-defendants says the illegal campaign money came from an unidentified foreign investor. A Russian businessman named Andrey Muraviev was revealed in court papers as the secret financier behind another marijuana investment in the Bay Area involving Kukushkin.

As reported by The Bee, Kukushkin, who lives in San Francisco, is an officer and permit holder in the Twelve Hour Care retail cannabis dispensary on Fruitridge Road.

His partner in that business is Garib Karapetyan of Sacramento, the undisputed leader of the city's $142 million-a-year legal retail pot industry. The Bee's reporting on Karapetyan's dominance of the dispensary business — he is part-owner of eight of Sacramento's 30 retail sites — has sparked an investigation by city officials.

Kukushkin and Karapetyan also are partners in a company called Next Phase Holdings LLC, which is developing a home-delivery marijuana business from a building near the Fruitridge Road dispensary, and two management companies, KKMC Management LLC and Legacy Botanical Company LLC. Legacy Botanical is defunct, according to state records. Muraviev, the Russian businessman, has been a partner in KKMC and Legacy Botanical.

Karapetyan's lawyer, Brad Hirsch, said Tuesday his clients had "no connection to the substance" of the Politico article.

Despite a proliferation of states like California passing laws that decriminalized marijuana, it's still illegal and classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic under federal law. Only one facility at the University of Mississippi is permitted by the federal government to conduct research on cannabis.

Last September, a month before he was indicted, Kukushkin received an email from Yuichiro Tanaka, a research biologist at the VA Medical Center, outlining the terms of the agreement. The research project, which is budgeted at $650,000 a year for five years, was supposed to begin last month, according to the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Bee.

Also participating in the project would be the Northern California Institute for Research and Education, a nonprofit dedicated to funding joint research between the VA and UC San Francisco. Officials at the institute declined to comment and referred questions to the VA.

Oasis was initially turned down by Alameda County officials in 2017 to cultivate marijuana on a ranch near Livermore. But after the county expanded the number of cultivation sites it would allow, Campos said Oasis was granted a business permit and is working on getting its conditional use permit. The conditional use permit would allow the company to grow marijuana on the ranch.

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Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration proposed to close the Barstow Veterans Home and displace the 200 Veterans who call it home. I’d like to give our community an update on this proposal as well as the efforts to keep this vital facility open. Though the state budget is understandably stretched thin by the coronavirus epidemic and the resulting economic crisis, I hope everyone can agree that the state should not attempt to balance the budget on the backs of our Veterans.

Closing the Barstow Veterans Home isn’t good public policy because of its location: it is the only Veteran’s home in the Inland Empire, and our community has one of the highest concentrations of Veterans in the state. In addition, this Veterans home was sited here due to its unique proximity to multiple military installations, including Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base, the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station and Edwards Air Force Base.

Working alongside local representatives such as Congressman Paul Cook, Supervisor Dawn Rowe, Barstow Mayor Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre, Victorville Mayor Gloria Garcia and others, we delivered the message to the state that closing the home is absolutely unacceptable to the communities we represent. We were fortunate that the attempt to close the home was made through the budget, as I serve as vice-chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee and was able to effectively advocate for saving the home. State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, and I were successful in working with our respective budget committees in the Senate and the Assembly to block the governor’s proposal and pass alternative language in the budget.

The final 2020-2021 budget rejects closure of the Barstow Veterans Home in the current fiscal year and instead requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs, or CalVet, to hold a series of stakeholder meetings to study the issue and develop a plan for the future of the home. The plan options studied must include not only the option of closing the home but also the option of keeping it open by expanding the home’s skilled nursing facility or converting the home’s intermediate care facility into a residential care facility for the elderly.

Both of these options were recommended in CalVet’s 2020 Master Plan as ways to maximize the usage of the home. The budget control language also mandates that any change of the home’s use must include a transition plan that ensures none of the residents are involuntarily discharged without given an alternative placement option. CalVet is required to complete its report for the Legislature by Feb. 1, 2021.

Last week I joined other local leaders in participating in one of the stakeholder meetings the Legislature required CalVet to hold. During the meeting we made it clear in no uncertain terms that closure of this vital facility is not acceptable to our community.

While we were able to save this home from closure in the current year’s budget, I remain committed to find ways to better maximize the usage of this critical facility and ensure that our Veterans can stay in our community.

CalVet will continue to hold meetings with local officials, statewide Veterans groups and the Legislature. I ask that everyone who supports our Veterans send an email to CalVet stating that you encourage them to keep the Barstow Veterans Home open and oppose any effort to close it. CalVet’s email for public input is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I believe that ensuring we honor our commitment to our Veterans should be a top priority of our government. As President Roosevelt said, “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.” Please join me in giving our Veterans a square deal and keeping the Barstow Veterans Home open.

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ATLANTA – Three anesthesia providers and several Georgia outpatient surgery centers, as well as their physician-owners and an administrator, agreed to pay more than $28 million to resolve allegations that they entered into kickback arrangements by paying and receiving payments for medications, supplies, equipment and labor as well as free staffing in exchange for the referral of patients.

“A physician’s health care decisions should be based solely on what is in the patient’s best interest, not what increases the physician’s bottom line,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “There are significant consequences for healthcare providers who put their own financial well-being ahead of the well-being of their patients.”

“Paying or receiving kickbacks to secure taxpayer-funded healthcare payments – as alleged in this case – is illegal and corrupts the federal health care system,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We will continue to work diligently with our State and Federal law enforcement partners to protect government health programs and those they serve.”

“Medical providers who pay out or take kickback payments for referrals are taking advantage of patients and taxpayer funded healthcare programs,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is proud of the role it played in this settlement and will continue to provide investigative assets and resources to ensure no one takes advantage of a fair system and undermines the public’s trust.”

Anesthesia providers typically depend on hospitals and outpatient surgery centers for their income. If an anesthesia provider can secure an exclusive contract for anesthesia services with a center, it is guaranteed a steady stream of patient referrals during the term of the contract. As a result, anesthesia providers compete aggressively for these contracts.

The Government alleges that between 2005 and 2015, Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta, LLC (f/k/a Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta, PC) (“AAA”) and Northside Anesthesiology Consultants, LLC (“NAC”) made payments for drugs, supplies, equipment and labor, and provided free staffing to a number of Georgia outpatient surgery centers in order to induce the centers to select AAA and NAC to be their exclusive anesthesia providers. The Government alleges that these arrangements were negotiated by Stanford Plavin, M.D. on behalf of AAA and NAC. The Government alleges that these arrangements violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), and caused the submission of false claims in violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq.

The following individuals and entities have entered into settlement agreements with the Government (listed in alphabetical order):

• Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta, LLC (“AAA”)
• Arif A. Aziz, M.D.
• Jean Calhoun
• Jay A. Cherner, M.D.
• David Finkelman, M.D.
• Alan M. Fixelle, M.D.
• DCA Diagnostics, L.L.C.
• The Endoscopy Center, LLC (Savannah)
• Endoscopy Consultants, LLC
• Gastrointestinal Specialists of Georgia, P.C.
• Georgia Endoscopy Center, LLC
• G.I. Diagnostics Endoscopy Center, L.L.C.
• Eugene H. Hirsh, M.D.
• A. Steven McIntosh, M.D.
• North Fulton Medical Center, Inc.
• Northside Anesthesiology Consultants, LLC (“NAC”)
• Northwest Georgia Orthopaedic Surgery Center, LLC
• Stanford Plavin, M.D.
• M. Thomas Riddick, M.D.
• Bruce A. Salzberg, M.D.
• Gary S. Simon, M.D.
• David N. Socoloff, D.O.
• United Surgical Partners International, Inc.
• Wellbrook Endoscopy Center, P.C.

This settlement resolves a lawsuit originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by Kathleen Hartney-Velazco, M.D., Jan Kersey and Capitol Anesthesiology, P.C. (the Relators) under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. United States ex rel. Capitol Anesthesiology, P.C., et al. v. Stanford Plavin, M.D., et al., No. 1:11-cv-2513-SCJ. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens may bring suit for false claims on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery obtained by the government. The Relators have received over $4,700,000.00 from the settlement.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeli Ben-David and Georgia Assistant Attorney-General Sara Vann.

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A partnership between VA and the Association of Military Banks of America

Life comes with plenty of challenges, but your banking shouldn’t be one of them. That’s why VA has partnered with the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA) to launch the Veterans Benefits Banking Program (VBBP). With VBBP, Veterans and their families can safely, reliably, and inexpensively receive and manage their VA monetary benefits through financial services at participating banks.

This new program introduces new financial resources to Veterans and their beneficiaries. AMBA specializes in providing services for military personnel, Veterans, and their families around the world. VBBP’s new services will give Veterans the tools necessary to better protect their benefits from fraudulent schemes. It will also help to improve their financial literacy so that they can develop a long-term financial strategy.

Our Veterans who receive monetary benefits should have as many financial management and services options as possible. Participating VBBP banks will offer eligible Veterans federally-insured and regulated financial products, services, and education that can be tailored to their needs and the needs of their families.

The present available banking options include direct deposit into an existing bank account, electronic funds transfer into a Direct Express pre-paid debit card, and mailing of a paper check for pre-approved beneficiaries. VBBP expands upon these offerings.

VBBP introduces new financial resources to Veterans and their beneficiaries. It will expand these offerings by giving Veterans more choices, and it addresses issues some Veterans experience using the payment methods currently available to them. VBBP offers these VA beneficiaries – including many who have been unable to open bank accounts in the past – the opportunity to deposit their benefit funds directly into existing or new bank accounts offered by participating AMBA member banks.

VA delivers approximately $118 billion annually in benefits and services for Veterans and their families, ranging from disability compensation, pension and fiduciary, education, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation and employment, life insurance, and transition and economic development. There are approximately 250,000 Veterans and beneficiaries who receive their VA benefits through a pre-paid debit card or paper check who may not have a bank account.

Neither VA nor AMBA endorses any bank and does not require Veterans and other beneficiaries to use them. Veterans who are satisfied with their current financial situation are not required to change how they receive their VA monetary benefits.

How to enroll

Find more information on the Veterans Benefits Banking Program, the enrollment process, or how to find a bank that fits your needs, visit www.benefits.va.gov/banking or www.Veteransbenefitsbanking.org.

To have your federal benefits electronically transferred to a your bank, eligible Veterans should visit www.VA.gov/change-direct-deposit or call VA at 1-800-827-1000 with relevant banking information.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the 20-year prison sentence for a former pathologist at an Arkansas Veterans hospital who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient he misdiagnosed.

The three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by Robert Levy's attorneys that the sentence was unreasonable.

Levy pleaded guilty to misdiagnosing a patient with small cell carcinoma who died after being treated for a type of cancer he didn’t have. Levy falsified the patient’s medical record to state that a second pathologist agreed with his diagnosis, according to a plea agreement.

Levy was fired from the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville in April 2018.

VA officials said in 2019 that outside pathologists reviewed nearly 34,000 cases handled by Levy and found more than 3,000 errors or missed diagnoses dating back to 2005. Levy has acknowledged that he once showed up to work at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks drunk in 2016, but he denied that he had worked while impaired. He entered an in-patient treatment program following that incident and returned to work in October 2016 after agreeing to remain sober and submitting to random drug testing.

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Veterans who have a legacy appeal pending with VA have an opportunity to opt in to the Appeals Modernization program’s decision review program. The new process provides more options and a faster decision without changing their date of claim.

The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (Appeals Modernization Act) went into effect February 19, 2019. By joining the modernized process, Veterans and claimants will receive more choice and control over their disagreements, and more timely decisions.

The new review process was validated during the Rapid Appeals Modernization Program (RAMP) pilot, which began in November 2017. As of August 1, nearly 84,000 claims have been completed and more than $410 million in retroactive benefits have been paid to beneficiaries.

To opt in to the modernized process, you must have a pending legacy appeal and have received a Statement of the Case (SOC) or Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) within the previous 60 days. By completing the appropriate form and submitting it to VA within 60 days of receipt of an SOC or SSOC, your pending legacy appeal will be moved from the legacy appeals process into the modernized decision review process.

If you choose to enter the modernized decision review system, you are not “starting over.” In fact, since a primary benefit of the new system is more timely decisions, you will most likely receive your decision within a few short months (depending on your lane selection). Regardless of the lane selected, effective dates for any granted benefits are protected.

There are three options, or lanes, available under the modernized process:

Supplemental Claim:

• Submit a VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. Check “OPT-IN from SOC/SSOC” box under Part II, 13 (see below).
• This lane requires the submission of new and relevant evidence.
• VBA will assist you in obtaining evidence for your claim and provides a review based on newly-received evidence.
• VBA’s goal for completing Supplemental Claims is an average of 125 days.

Higher-Level Review:

• Submit a VA Form 20-0996, Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review. Check “OPT-IN from SOC/SSOC” box under Part III, 15 (see below).
• No new evidence is allowed in this lane. This lane provides a review by a senior, more experienced adjudicator to determine whether the previous decision was correctly decided or should be decided in a different way.
• You have the option to have an informal conference over the telephone with the reviewer to point out the error in the previous decision.
• VBA’s goal for completing Higher-Level Reviews is an average of 125 days.

Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals:

• Submit a VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement). Check “Opt In from SOC/SSOC” box under Part III, 12 (see below).
• This lane allows you to appeal directly to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board).
• You may choose one of three Board dockets: (1) Direct Docket: no new evidence and no hearing; 2) Evidence Docket: new evidence but no hearing; or 3) Hearing Docket: hearing with or without new evidence).
• The Board’s goal for completing appeals on the Direct Docket is 365 days. Appeals on the other two dockets may take longer than 365 days.

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HR managers help VA recruit and retain top talent so we can fulfill our mission of providing superior health care to millions of Veterans

One of our highest priorities at VA is recruiting and retaining top talent so we can fulfill our mission of providing superior health care to millions of Veterans. But we can’t do that without the help of skilled and dedicated human resources (HR) professionals.

HR managers are one of the most sought-after nonclinical positions at VA, with nearly one in four VA health care systems indicating they need to recruit and hire more staff in this position. The occupation has increased by nearly 8% over the last three years and is expected to continue growing.

“VA service begins with VA people. HR managers help ensure that we attract, employ and retain the best and most qualified people, so that we can continue to provide the highest level of care to Veterans across the country,” said Darren Sherrard, associate director of recruitment marketing.

Hiring of HR managers has been expedited and streamlined under the Direct Hire Authority.

Critical need

Our HR teams are charged with every aspect of the employee experience at VA – from hire to retire. As an HR manager, you’ll serve as an essential link between our management and our employees, while serving an organization with the noble mission of caring for our nation’s heroes.

We employ HR managers in a range of capacities to help maintain our administrative functions – from recruitment and labor relations to compensation.

Duties could include:

• Helping to plan and coordinate the VA workforce.
• Planning and overseeing employee benefit programs.
• Advising other managers on human resources issues, such as equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment.
• Coordinating and supervising the work of HR specialists and support staff.
• Overseeing our recruitment, interviewing, selection and hiring processes.
• Handling staffing issues, such as mediating disputes and directing disciplinary procedures.
• Assisting with strategic planning.

Begin your VA career

You can find HR manager jobs at VA facilities across the country. Whether you want to live in the country, city or somewhere in between, you’ll be able to discover a VA location that fits your needs.

These well-paying positions come with an excellent array of benefits, including an excellent three-tier retirement plan, generous paid time off and robust health insurance.

To help us recruit talented HR professionals, we are often able to offer you recruitment and relocation incentives, loan repayment assistance through the Education Debt Reduction Program, scholarship support and telework options.

Work at VA

There’s no better time to consider continuing your HR career at VA. We’re hiring HR managers across the nation, and you could be one of them.

• APPLY for an available HR job.
• LEARN more about the benefits of working at VA.
• HEAR from some of VA’s HR professionals.
• EXPLORE our website at www.vacareers.va.gov.

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The Link Between Hepatitis C Infections and Diabetes Mellitus

There has been quite a lot of discussion about a possible correlation between the transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and military immunizations performed with jet injectors. Hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood. The risk factors for HCV are those that have had blood to blood exposures. Individuals born between 1945 to 1965 have a higher chance of being infected with HCV. This is because of a lack of a strict protocol for the handling and testing of blood and blood products during that time. Protocols for blood handling are constantly evolving to become safer and safer. Other risk factors exist for those that have tattoos/body piercings, are drug users, are on long term dialysis or have been diagnosed with liver disease.

What Is Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)?

HCV is an infection of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus. According to the CDC, for the majority of patients, this becomes a serious disease. It is possible that infected individuals won’t show any symptoms or look ill. Out of the general population of the United States, about 3 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C. There is no vaccine for HCV at this time. Symptoms of HCV infection include fever, fatigue, dark urine, clay-colored stools, stomach pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, and jaundice.

Risks of Chronic HCV Infections

If left untreated, an HCV infection can cause some serious conditions. The condition can also develop into chronic hepatitis C virus infection, which is the case for many patients. And chronic hepatitis C may lead to a number of complications. These can include liver cancer like hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the most common type of liver cancer. Individuals with chronic hepatitis C can also experience liver cirrhosis, which is the gradual scarring of the liver tissue, as well as steatosis or the fatty infiltration of the liver. Some chronic hepatitis C patients with severe liver damage will eventually require a liver transplant.

Patients diagnosed with hepatitis C can take antiviral medications to control the virus. This antiviral treatment works by preventing the hepatitis C infection from multiplying in the body. Most doctors prescribe these antivirals to be taken once per day. Two of the main medications that doctors prescribe for hepatitis C infection treatment are called Harvoni and Sovaldi. Some patients may take these prescriptions with an antiviral called ribavirin. Hepatology specialists will recommend a set of medications based on a patient’s specific needs.

It’s important to note that this discussion only refers to the hepatitis C virus. There are several other types of viral hepatitis. The hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are two of the most common types of hepatitis worldwide. However, there are available vaccines for HAV and HBV, while there is not a vaccine for HCV.

What Is The Link Between HCV And Type 2 Diabetes?

It is important for patients to know that having a diagnosis of HCV also puts them at an increased risk for developing diabetes mellitus (DM). This is true for both type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes. Individuals who already have diabetes may also experience more severe symptoms with a hepatitis C infection. The combination of HCV and DM will lead to increased HCV symptomology, and it will increase the odds of developing liver damage. Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes can also be risk factors for fatty liver disease.

If you have HCV, the first sign of DM development is called insulin resistance. When you eat your body breaks food down into smaller components of nutrients; one of those nutrients is glucose. Glucose needs insulin in order to be absorbed by the body, especially into the liver where glucose is stored. Insulin resistance prevents your body from absorbing glucose into your cells so it just stays in the blood. If this happens enough, your blood sugar remains high, which is called hyperglycemia, and you develop DM. This causes damage to your liver over time. So, in turn, you are at a higher risk for cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. The only way to know if you have insulin resistance is through a blood test. Insulin resistance is often the first sign of diabetes mellitus, and some people with insulin resistance are considered to have prediabetes. A medical professional can assess your fasting glucose levels to determine whether your blood glucose indicates prediabetes or signs of hyperglycemia.

Managing The Effects of Viral Hepatitis C And Diabetes

To mitigate the risk of developing DM, you should treat insulin resistance immediately. If you already have DM and HCV, managing it closely is the key to also managing the long term effects of each. So proper diabetes care and management of your hepatitis C infection are key. Watching your diet, practicing glycemic control, monitoring blood glucose levels, taking your antiviral and diabetes medications (like metformin), eliminating alcohol intake, and losing weight are all ways to help manage your diseases effectively.

Diabetic patients and those who are at an increased risk for diabetes can talk to their doctor about lifestyle changes. A higher body mass index (BMI) can lead to more diabetes complications and may put an individual at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Family history can also play a role in personal risk for diabetes.

The cause of the impairment of the glucose-insulin mechanism in HCV patients is unclear but research continues to be conducted to ensure more effective treatment.

What Does This Mean For Veterans?

The VA has specific guidelines for Veterans with hepatitis C. Certain Veterans may be at higher risk for having HCV, since the VA has made a connection between the virus and jet injectors. Veterans may be at higher risk for military-related blood exposures as well.

The VA recommends testing HCV infection testing for all individuals between 1945 and 1965. There are also certain risk factors pertaining to Veterans. The VA recommends testing for former military service members with risk factors such as the following:

• Has ever used a needle to inject drugs
• Had an organ transplant or blood transfusion prior to 1992
• Served in the Vietnam war or is a Vietnam-era Veteran
• Has piercings or tattoos
• Was a healthcare worker who may have been exposed to blood
• Has HIV
• Had blood-to-blood exposure during military service

You can view a complete list of these HCV infection risk factors on the VA website. Keep in mind that you don’t need to have a specific risk factor or suspected case of HCV to be tested. Anyone who wishes to be tested for the hepatitis C virus should seek testing.

If you are diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus, the VA can offer a special care service. They provide patient education, anti-HCV medication or medication for complications of HCV, access to medical care specialists, support groups, web-based resources, and more. The VA closely monitors recent studies on viral hepatitis C to offer the best possible resources to affected Veterans. Your local VA office can likely give you information on treatment for the HCV infection.

VA Ratings of Hepatitis C

Viral hepatitis C is included in the VA’s 38 CFR § 4.114 ratings schedule, along with other diseases of the digestive system. The VA grants ratings based on the severity of hepatitis C. The ratings are listed verbatim:

• 0%: Non-symptomatic
• 10%: Intermittent fatigue, malaise, and anorexia, or; incapacitating episodes (with symptoms such as fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain) having a total duration of at least one week, but less than two weeks, during the past 12-month period
• 20%: Daily fatigue, malaise, and anorexia (without weight loss or hepatomegaly), requiring dietary restriction or continuous medication, or; incapacitating episodes (with symptoms such as fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain) having a total duration of at least two weeks, but less than four weeks, during the past 12-month period
• 40%: Daily fatigue, malaise, and anorexia, with minor weight loss and hepatomegaly, or; incapacitating episodes (with symptoms such as fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain) having a total duration of at least four weeks, but less than six weeks, during the past 12-month period
• 60%: Daily fatigue, malaise, and anorexia, with substantial weight loss (or other indication of malnutrition), and hepatomegaly, or; incapacitating episodes (with symptoms such as fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain) having a total duration of at least six weeks during the past 12-month period, but not occurring constantly
• 100%: Near-constant debilitating symptoms (such as fatigue, malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, arthralgia, and right upper quadrant pain)

The VA has a different rating system for diabetes mellitus, which may affect Vietnam-era Veterans in particular. If your claim for VA benefits for hep C and diabetes is denied, contact the team at Hill & Ponton today. Our knowledgeable attorneys are proud to offer a free case evaluation to assess your claim today.

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Editor’s note: This post was substantially updated Jan. 14, 2022. It adds the fourth paragraph about Gulf War and Post 9/11 Veterans, the sixth paragraph about Vietnam Veterans, and the last paragraph about the registries.

Were you exposed to hazardous materials while serving in the military, such as Agent Orange in Vietnam or burn pits in Afghanistan, Iraq or Southwest Asia? If so, you may be eligible to file for service-connected benefits based on presumptive exposure.

Over the course of the last six months, VA has begun processing service-connected disability claims for six new presumptive conditions related to exposure to hazardous materials.

In May 2021, VA started implementing provisions of the William M. Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA), adding bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinsonism to the list of medical conditions presumptively associated with exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and certain other locations.

For Gulf War and Post 9/11 Veterans, a few months later VA added asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis (to include rhinosinusitis) on a presumptive basis based on particulate matter exposures during military service in Southwest Asia and certain other areas.

Any Veteran who was previously denied service-connection for asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis (to include rhinosinusitis) and had symptoms manifest within 10 years of military service would need to file another claim. Be sure to use VA Form 20-0995, “Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim” when filing. The claim form should include the name of the medical condition and specify that the medical condition is being claimed due to in-service exposure to environmental hazards.

Vietnam Veterans with bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinsonism due to Agent Orange exposure who had previous claims denied should also file another claim, but symptoms do not need to have manifested within 10 years of military service. These Veterans should also use VA Form 20-0995, “Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim” when filing for previously denied service-connected benefits.

VA is committed to assisting Veterans who may have been exposed to hazardous materials during their military service.

Be sure to stay plugged in to www.va.gov for the most recent developments around environmental hazards; VA is constantly conducting research and surveillance, as well as reviewing scientific literature for conditions that may be related to exposure during military service.

If you feel you have a chronic condition attributed to an in-service exposure, we highly encourage you to file a claim. For more information about VA benefits and eligibility, or how to file a claim, Veterans and survivors can visit VA’s website at www.va.gov or call toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.

The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pits Registry (AHOBPR) is governed by law and eligibility is for Gulf War Veterans and Post 9/11 Veterans for further scientific research into the health impacts of industrial burn pits. Vietnam Veterans are already covered under Agent Orange presumptions and are encouraged to directly file claim if they feel their medical condition is related to Agent Orange exposure.

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Less than 10 percent of Veterans receive dental care through the Veterans Administration, and those who qualify must have a disability rating of 100%, which leaves many Veterans without access to dental care.

However, a Slaton based dentist has teamed up with a national program to provide comprehensive dental care for low-income combat Veterans in the Lubbock area.

Mary Glasheen is a military spouse, and before moving to Lubbock, her husband was stationed in Virginia, where she did a one-year dental residency at the VA, she said.

“There were challenging circumstances, where you wish you could offer more care and services but that is not what you’re allowed to do,” Glasheen said. “I don’t know who sets the rules, but you have to follow them. And I realized there are enormous gaps in care.”

Glasheen is a practicing dentist, as well as the Public Health and Outreach Chairperson for the South Plains Dental Society.

The difficulties Veterans can face to receive dental care has not gone unnoticed; in 2008 Theresa Cheng founded Everyone for Veterans in Seattle, which is now a nonprofit which provides free comprehensive dental care for combat Veterans, spouses and caretakers by partnering with dentists to volunteer their time and services.

All services are pro bono, Cheng said. Some dentists will have openings in their schedules to see Veterans, while others may stay an extra hour at the office for the volunteer work. It is not a significant burden on the dentists, and it makes a tremendous difference in the lives of Veterans.

Many Veterans who have received dental care through the Everyone For Veterans program have reached out to Cheng, she said, sharing stories and sentiments. One Veteran was able to lose weight because his procedure allowed him to eat vegetables again, while others would not have been able to afford their procedures on their own.

“It’s amazing that these things, it’s not too much work for us dentists,” Cheng said. “I know it's pro bono work and it would have cost her thousands of dollars and (it was) not attainable, but for us, providing the work, it doesn’t seem like that much (more) work we are doing. But the impact on their lives is just amazing.”

Glasheen knew she wanted to use her profession to help Veterans any way she could, she said. She moved to the Lubbock area a year ago and started looking for ways to make a difference. The Everyone For Veterans program stood out to her, so she signed up and started encouraging other professionals to get involved.

“So, it's like a network of dentists that are interested in providing pro bono care for low-income Veterans in your area,” Glasheen said. “You know, me as a Lubbock dentist, I’ve signed up. I’ve got colleagues who have signed up and I really want to use my platform as Community Outreach Coordinator, Public Health Chairperson for the South Plains district Dental Society to promote the program and connect dentists together.”

Glasheen got to work, starting with colleagues who were service members or had family who served. She also got in touch with Norman Bearden, the Panhandle and South Plains Veterans Resource Coordinator for Workforce Solutions, to help spread the word to combat Veterans in the Lubbock area.

Bearden served 23 years as a submariner in the Navy. He needed dental work, but it was not feasible during active duty.

“My dental issue was actually deemed a medical problem for various factors; it's been a while since I went through that part of it,” he said. “But they were actually going to put me at Port Smith Naval hospital and break my jaw and move it forward.”

He could have had the procedure done during a short command—in which he would be stationed in one place for three years—but he decided not to. He waited until his retirement to get braces.

“So, I waited until I retired, after 23 years and decided finally the time came and I was just going to do it,” Bearden said. “And it made such a difference.”

Like many Veterans in the Lubbock area, Bearden’s dental work had an overwhelmingly positive effect on him psychologically, he said. He was no longer self-conscious about his teeth, and this can help many Veterans with their confidence, from employment opportunities to personal relationships.

Under the Everyone For Veterans program, and Glasheen’s Adopt a Veteran Dental initiative, each dentist will add a Veteran’s case to their workload. Adding one patient to a dentist’s private practice is an entirely achievable goal, Glasheen said. This allows the dentists and the Veterans to build relationships, the Veterans will be able to maintain their oral health and receive the treatment they need.

Veterans are not receiving the dental care they need because many do not qualify for dental care from the VA. The needs of these Veterans an range from basic cleanings and maintenance to fillings and extractions, to dentures and implants, she said. If left untreated, ailments like tooth aches, infections and missing teeth can seriously impact a Veteran’s health, confidence and employment. Everyone For Veterans aims to help Veterans in any way they can.

“I think that it ranges from keeping them functional and healthy, where you can eat a varied, healthy diet, and you’re able to chew food comfortably and function well,” Glasheen said, “to helping with employment. “If you feel confident in your smile, you’re able to do job interviews and have solid employment, that does wonders for Veterans too. And even just taking a tiny financial burden off their plate as they’re working to transition back into civilian life. That would be a goal, too.”

Everyone For Veterans is one of numerous dental and oral care programs aimed at supporting Veterans.

Hill & Ioppolo Oral & Dental Implant Surgery of Lubbock has for years been providing free dental work for Veterans through the Smiles for Soldiers program. Through the program, Veterans or members of the military are provided with a complimentary full-arch restoration procedure, according to Avalanche-Journal archives.

Many dental programs aimed to help Veterans are one-time urgent care, Cheng said. Particularly around Veterans Day, many dental offices will offer free or discounted services to Veterans and provide the care they can during that visit.

This can be great for Veterans who need one problem taken care of, but it can leave others with dental disease that cannot be treated in just one visit, which is why Everyone for Veterans emphasizes comprehensive care and incorporates the Veterans into a dentists’ practice.

“We feel that for this population of Veterans, which have, I think, done over and above as far as their service, being in combat areas, we want to do this comprehensive care because one thing they don’t have to worry about is dental care,” Cheng said. “So that’s what we emphasize with the dentists who help out in the program.”

Spreading the word about Glasheen’s initiative is a top priority. More than 20 dentists in the Lubbock area have signed up already, Bearden said. Now the focus is on reaching Veterans and getting them to apply.

Bearden has mostly relied on social media and news coverage, he said. But he hopes next year, as more dentists and Veterans get involved, he can make efforts at advertising to help get the information out.

“But if every dentist, if everyone, adopted one Veteran to care for—and I have no idea the response we are going to get from this,” he said. “I would hope we would have more Veterans applying for it because, obviously every Veteran isn’t going to be approved, but how nice would it be to have that right mixture of number of Veterans to the number of providers so that any one provider isn’t overwhelmed with more than they can handle.”

Bearden is also working with the Amarillo VA Healthcare Center to provide resources Veterans might need, like transportation or internet access for the applications, he said.

The Everyone For Veterans application process is straightforward, and eligible Veterans need only meet three requirements: they must have been deployed to a combat area, show financial need and not receive dental benefits from the VA, according to the Everyone For Veterans application website.

Bearden, Workforce Solutions and the Amarillo VA will provide any assistance a Veteran might need, from computers for the applications to help getting to and from the dentist appointments, he said. They will do anything to get the Veterans to this service.

There is an overwhelming need for dental care for Veterans, Glasheen said. While she can’t solve every problem on day one, she is taking it step by step to give back to the men and women who have served the country.

Spreading the word to Veterans is important, but they will not be able to receive care if dentists do not sign up to volunteer. Right now, across the state, there are Veterans waiting for dentists in Spring, Waco, San Antonio, Houston, New Braunfels, Livingston, Arlington, Nolanville, Pflugerville, Fort Worth, Commerce, Scurry, Killeen, Montgomery, Brenham and Grapeland, according to a list provided by Cheng.

However, dentists are needed in every state in the country. Those who wish to volunteer their time and expertise can find information here.

“I feel like ultimately we have relied on these men and women, who are, you know, just one percent of the population, for so much, to carry this enormous burden,” Glasheen said. “They are keeping us safe, beyond what we could really comprehend or understand as civilians. And the sacrifice they make to, of course themselves, but also their families - It just is really enormous, and I’ve always felt an extreme motivation to try to use my skills to give back.”

Dentist Contact

If you are a dental professional who is interested in committing to providing care for one Veteran over the course of this next year, please contact Mary Glasheen, DDS, Public Health and Outreach Chairperson for the South Plains Dental Society at 281-750-2439 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Veteran Contact

If you are a Veteran and are interested in our program, please contact Norm Bearden, Panhandle and South Plains Veterans Resource Coordinator, at 806-282-1146

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A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas returned an indictment yesterday charging an Arkansas man who owned or managed numerous diagnostic testing laboratories with health care fraud in connection with over $100 million dollars in false billings for urine drug testing, COVID-19 testing, and other clinical laboratory services.

According to court documents, Billy Joe Taylor, 42, of Lavaca, engaged in a scheme between February 2017 and May 2021 in connection with diagnostic laboratory testing, including urine drug testing and tests for respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, that were medically unnecessary, not ordered by medical providers, and/or not provided as represented. According to the indictment, Taylor controlled and directed multiple diagnostic laboratories, and used those labs to submit more than $100 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. The indictment alleges that Taylor obtained medical information and private personal information for Medicare beneficiaries, and then misused that confidential information to repeatedly submit claims to Medicare for diagnostic tests that were not ordered by medical providers and were not actually performed by the laboratories. Taylor allegedly then used the proceeds of the fraud to live a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing numerous luxury automobiles, including a Rolls Royce Wraith, as well as real estate, jewelry, guitars, and other luxury clothing and items.

Taylor is charged with 16 counts of health care fraud, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally-derived property. Taylor was previously charged by criminal complaint in May 2021. The defendant is scheduled for his arraignment on Nov. 23 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark E. Ford of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Each of the counts is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas; Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson, of the FBI’s Little Rock division; Special Agent in Charge Miranda Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Dallas Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Altemus of the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Dallas Field Office, made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Jim Hayes and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas are prosecuting the case.

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'We are branded as criminals': Soldiers never charged with wrongdoing say Army investigation has ruined their careers

A decade after the Army ended a recruiting program embroiled in accusations of fraud and mismanagement, more than 2,400 soldiers who were never charged with wrongdoing are likely shackled by a misleading flag on their criminal records.

"We are branded as criminals," Army Capt. Gilberto De Leon told Fox News. "There was times where I broke down on my knees … My career ruined, about to lose my pension. How am I gonna support my family of eight?"

Soldiers and Veterans say they’ve lost jobs, been denied bank loans or weapons permits, and suffered other consequences because of an obscure Army process that treats anyone who is merely investigated for wrongdoing as guilty.

"I did nothing wrong," said South Carolina Army National Guard Capt. Benjamin Sternemann, who was several years into a career as a police officer when the flag popped up on his background check. "I was never arrested and never charged. And I lost my job anyway."

‘Illegal from the beginning’

The soldiers’ saga started in 2005, at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. military needed more bodies, so it started the National Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) and its smaller Army Reserve counterpart (AR-RAP).

The programs created thousands of temporary recruiters overnight, offering $2,000 for each person they steered toward the Guard.

"All they had to do was talk to somebody for a few minutes and submit their name so that an actual recruiter could get them in the door," Sternemann said. If they shipped to basic training, the recruiting assistants got paid.

Sternemann said he referred three people and was paid $6,000 while attending the University of South Carolina around 2010. De Leon participated between 2007 and 2009, collecting $11,000 for six recruits.

"The programs, by all accounts, worked fantastic," lawyer and retired Green Beret Doug O’Connell said.

But G-RAP came under scrutiny in 2012, and the Army ended the program. Federal investigators found the Army had contracted with a company called Docupak to run the programs in a process that met "almost none" of the federal acquisition requirements, USA Today reported. The National Guard Bureau officer who awarded the contract later went to work for Docupak.

An Army audit found "thousands … of participants who were associated with payments that are at high or medium risk for fraud," Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, said during a scathing 2014 hearing demanding answers from the Army.

"As if all that was not bad enough, the Army has determined in its investigation that the entire program was illegal from the beginning," McCaskill said in the hearing, noting that the payments exceeded limits Congress had placed on bonuses the Army could pay. "All of the money spent on the program … was illegal."

The Army vowed to investigate all 106,364 people paid by the recruiting program and launched Task Force Raptor, believed to be its biggest investigation in history.

Critics of the probes argue that the Army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) agents made sloppy cases against the recruiting assistants, accusing them of stealing personal information from recruits they had never met and collecting payment as if they had referred them to the Guard. Former recruiting assistants and their lawyers say CID cold-called troops as much as a decade after the fact and asked if they remembered who referred them to the guard.

"If they didn’t say the recruiting assistant’s name, the investigators assumed the recruiting assistant was guilty of criminal misconduct which is absolutely ridiculous," said O’Connell, who has represented around 225 G-RAP participants in both civil and criminal cases. "In many cases that I've worked on, we've been able to prove the recruiting assistant didn't do anything wrong once they were shown a picture of my client."

Army leadership told Congress in 2014 that Task Force Raptor might uncover as much as $100 million in fraud. Three years later, the Army revised that estimate to $6 million, after spending around $28 million on the investigation.

As of 2022, Task Force Raptor resulted in just $478,002 repaid to the U.S. Treasury and $58,403 in fines and fees, according to Army data.

The Army referred 1,503 cases to civilian authorities. Prosecutors pursued charges in 137 of those cases.

"Most district attorneys would not touch these cases because they were so tainted with cookie cutter interrogations, phone interviews and poor documentation," Sternemann said.

But thousands of soldiers who were never charged with a crime — and in many cases had no idea they’d been under investigation — became unexpected casualties of Task Force Raptor.

'Branded as criminals'

Sternemann was several years into a career as a police officer when he applied for a concealed weapon permit in 2018. He received a denial notice by mail and contacted licensing officials to ask why.

When he received a copy of his background check, he stared in shock at the single entry: "ARREST DATE 2016-03-02."

Three charges followed: aggravated identity theft, wire fraud and fraud.

"I was never arrested, never charged," he told Fox News. "I had no idea that this had occurred."

During Task Force Raptor the Army "titled" 2,580 soldiers, according to the data shared with Fox News. Titling is a process within CID that creates a permanent record showing a soldier was the subject of an investigation regardless of whether they are ever charged with a crime.

Then the Army forwarded that information to the FBI’s criminal database where the titles show up as an arrest, O’Connell said.

"This is one of the most tragic parts of this entire debacle," O’Connell said. "All these people who are simply titled … now have a criminal history that is wrong and illegal, because they've said that these soldiers and former soldiers were actually arrested or received into custody. And of course, they were never arrested."

Fifty-three soldiers and Veterans affiliated with G-RAP asked CID to remove the title from their record as of 2021. The Army denied every single request, according to data an adviser for a U.S. senator shared with Fox News on the condition of anonymity.

Army spokesman Matt Leonard said 10 more people asked the Army to remove their titles in Fiscal Year 2022.

"The soldiers and former soldiers who stood up and volunteered to serve and protect our Constitution are now being treated as criminals without any kind of due process rights," O’Connell said.

The presence of what looks like a pending felony charge on Sternemann’s record meant he couldn’t renew his police credentials. His department fired him in 2019.

"There was nothing they could do," he said. "They could no longer employ me because they had to have a credentialed law enforcement officer with a clean record."

Many jobs and professional licenses require applicants to pass a background check. O’Connell says he’s represented real estate agents, physician assistants, police officers and other professionals who have had their lives upended by the titling system.

"These former soldiers that are now trying to get on with a different career are still having to deal with the horrors of G-RAP," he said.

If a soldier is still in the Army, the title often makes it difficult — if not impossible — to promote.

De Leon should have donned the golden oak leaf pin of a major three years ago, but his promotion packet was flagged in 2019 for a fraud investigation linked to G-RAP. He jumped through endless bureaucratic hoops and even gained the support of six Republican congressmen who implored Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to intervene. But on April 1, De Leon’s promotion packet expired.

"It’s very sad. I saw myself as a lifer on active duty, retired 20 years, just like my father did," he said. The father of six will leave the Army on Feb. 1, without a pension and knowing that the title on his record could hinder future employment opportunities.

Army CID launches review of its own investigations

Army CID revealed in July that it would review more than 880 Task Force Raptor investigations to determine whether soldiers were titled appropriately.

Fox News has repeatedly contacted Army CID since August asking for an update on the review. On Friday, a spokesman said in an email that a "comprehensive review of all investigations" related to the recruiting programs was ongoing but "CID cannot provide specific data on rates of review completion."

Army CID officials would not comment on De Leon or Sternemann’s cases, citing privacy concerns, and declined to be interviewed for this story.

"I do not have a whole lot of hope for CID reviewing their own cases," Sternemann said. "It feels a lot like a fox in the henhouse."

De Leon’s case was re-opened prior to the larger review, after a flurry of publicity surrounding his scuttled promotion. An agent interviewed De Leon in May, with his lawyer Jeffrey Addicott present.

In a recording of the CID interview De Leon shared with Fox News, Addicott can be heard asking the CID agent if he has experience with G-RAP cases.

"This is actually my first," the agent replied.

Addicott and De Leon can be heard getting frustrated several times in the conversation with the agent’s apparent lack of knowledge of G-RAP, the titling system and its ramifications. The agent apparently requested that they explain G-RAP to him at the start of the conversation.

Toward the end of the interview, the agent can be heard saying, "Like I said, my first question, I had it written down in my notes—"

"’What the F is G-RAP?’" Addicott interjects.

On July 6, Army CID closed the case while maintaining its original determination that probable cause existed that De Leon committed larceny, identity theft and wire fraud.

"In the CID report there is not a single mention of any GRAP rule that was allegedly violated by CPT DeLeon, only a vague fraud allegation," Addicott told Fox News in an email. Addicott is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who has represented numerous former recruiting assistants in G-RAP cases.

Agents appear to have only interviewed one person during their review, whose name is redacted. That individual said De Leon did direct him to a recruiter.

Former National Guardsman Corey Thompson confirmed to Fox News that he was one of the six people De Leon referred to the National Guard between 2007 and 2009. Thompson said he remembers getting a "random" call from someone around 2014 asking about De Leon.

"I mentioned to them about him recruiting me to get into the guard," Thompson said.

He forgot about it after that, and said CID never contacted him during its latest review. He had no idea what De Leon was going through until his college buddy reached out over the summer.

"He's telling me people were saying that he stole my identity," Thompson said. "That’s not factual … We went to Eastern Kentucky together. We ate food together. We had multiple drinks together. We know each other."

Thompson described De Leon as a very motivated, enthusiastic person who made people like him look forward to joining the National Guard.

"To smear his name like this is just completely wrong," he said.

'There’s cowardice in our leadership'

As De Leon prepares to leave the Army, he says he’s furious at the lack of justice.

"Why does it seem like accountability stops at the Pentagon? There’s cowardice in our leadership," he said. "Not one leader is electing to fight for the innocent soldiers."

Addicott said it's high time for congressional hearings into the CID "witch-hunts that have ruined the lives of hundreds of innocent soldiers over the years."

Sternemann said CID’s actions have caused constant stress and anxiety for his whole family, all over $6,000 he received more than 10 years ago.

"I wish I hadn’t have helped them out," Sternemann told Fox News. "I still love my country. I still love the South Carolina Army National Guard. But this isn’t worth it."

He smiles bitterly at the irony of it all.

"This situation is showing that those of us in the military are not being afforded the rights that we were fighting for," he said.

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I prayed to God to just take me. For one, I was a coward, I didn’t want to do it, and I would prefer He do it on his terms,” recalled Army Sgt. Maj. Patrick McGrath, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, of contemplating suicide in 2019.

McGrath’s story goes back to his childhood. He detailed how this was a relevant point because the soldiers he serves with in the Army come from all walks of life.

“I didn’t have the best childhood,” said McGrath, who was born at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in eastern North Carolina, but grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. “My father was in the Marines for seven years, but not during a time I can remember. My mother was a drug addict and alcoholic.”

McGrath said it was after high school that he discovered the taste of alcohol.

He said he attempted to go to college, but it didn’t pan out. He ended up becoming a pizza chain manager, but didn’t feel a sense of purpose.

“I went home and told my dad I was going to look at all the services,” he said.

After joining the Army, McGrath said he still had a “backpack full of stuff” stemming from his childhood, such as low self-esteem and no sense of value, but he felt he had a purpose.

“The Army gave me a little tag that told me this is how you wear your uniform, this is how you’re supposed to act and follow the five Rs (right place, right time, right attitude, right uniform and right appearance),” he said. “This will ensure you’re successful.”

McGrath said he was on the pathway to success, but there came a moment when he drank until he blacked out. He said it was the first time in his life he thought he was like his mom, a road he didn’t want to travel.

McGrath said he was ‘boozing it up’ only on the weekends. He hid his drinking habit, and no one suspected he had a problem. He had soldiers who relied on him. He stayed focused all the while struggling with his own challenges, but his soldier gave him a sense of purpose.

“When I came down on orders and went to Korea, everything was still good,” McGrath said. “I was a first sergeant. I still had that sense of purpose, but I started drinking more. Weekends morphed into weekdays. My performance declined, but I was really good at what I did, so it appeared to those around me, I was doing what I needed to do. I had manipulated my leadership because I was getting results.”

In November 2017, the sergeants major’s list came out. His name was on the list and in August 2018 he’d be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, to attend the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

“I’m in trouble,” he remembered thinking to himself. “I knew I was going to have to leave my family, and I had no self-discipline. For 17 years, I had manipulated the Army.”

On July 13, 2018, he left Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, for Texas, and regressed back to drinking. “I showed up to the academy, was assigned a squad leader for accountability and stayed in a hotel for about 20 days before the class started Aug. 8,” McGrath said. “Following the accountability check, I would go back to my room and be drunk by 1300 (1 p.m.). I was in my room crying because I already knew I had gone too far.”

McGrath said when school started, he became a bit more disciplined because there was a requirement from the Army. However, in order to thrive and succeed in the academy, he had to be self-disciplined, an area he failed at.

“I would wake up each day and tell myself I wasn’t going to drink,” he said. “I had the shakes, but no one knew I was going through this; it was a secret. I had three roommates, too, and they had no idea.”

McGrath explained how one day he was driving to the Academy and started to plan how he was going to kill himself. “There’s these crazy overpasses in El Paso and people jump off there all the time,” he said. “That was my plan, too.”

But Feb. 5, 2019, he bolstered the courage to ask for help.

“I went into the instructors’ office at the academy and said ‘If I don’t get help, I’m going to kill myself,’ ” McGrath proclaimed. “I ended up going to resident treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas (now Joint Base San Antonio). I went back to the academy on April 9, 2019, was dropped for medical reasons, and came back to Fort Bragg.”

The support he received was opposite from what he thought it would be.

“I couldn’t comprehend the academy instructors being so supportive,” McGrath said. “I thought they would say I was letting the NCO Corps down and the academy down. Their reaction gave me hope that I could still one day wear the rank of sergeant major. The experience also impacted my spiritual relationship with God. God was using them to tell me it was going to be OK!”

Elizabeth Bechtel, Fort Bragg’s Suicide Prevention Program manager, said it is important to educate the community on Suicide Prevention/Intervention for a couple of reasons.

“The one thing we hear time and time again from those who survived an attempted suicide is they just wanted someone to listen to them,” she said. “So, teaching active listening skills and how to care when someone is in crisis is very important."

McGrath echoed that sentiment. He added how his family, the academy instructors, the treatment in San Antonio, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and having the opportunity to help others who are struggling has renewed his purpose.

He said there are a lot of people like him and he wants them to know their darkness can turn into light.

“I finished the non-resident portion of the academy on April 3, 2020 and was promoted to sergeant major August 1, 2020,” McGrath said. “I’ve been sober for 569 days.”

All service members, Veterans, and their families are encouraged to contact the Military Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 and press 1 to speak with a trained counselor. The support is free, confidential and available every day 24/7. If you or a loved one is seeking information about psychological health concerns, contact the Psychological Health Resource Center at 866-966-1020 to confidentially speak with trained health resource consultants 24/7. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 provides help.

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A decorated military Veteran who served in Vietnam and Iraq has claimed that his prosthetic legs were taken away after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would not cover the cost.

Jerry Holliman, 69, told the Clarion Ledger that he was in his room at the Veterans Home in Collins, Mississippi just a couple days before Christmas when a man walked in and took away his prosthetic limbs. According to Holliman, the VA said it would not cover the cost of the limbs, while Medicare said there'd be a copay required.

"Medicare did not send me to Vietnam," Holliman, who received Bronze Stars in both wars in which he served, told the Ledger in an article published Thursday. "I was sent there by my country...with the understanding that if something bad happened to me, that it would be covered by the VA."

Matthew Gowan, a VA spokesperson, told Newsweek that the claims were "highly misleading."

The newspaper reported that Holliman received his prosthetics in August from the national company Hanger, which produces them. Holliman said, however, that after he received a few training lessons from Hanger staff, he was told the VA would not cover the cost and to check with Medicare.

According to Holliman, the Medicare paperwork said there would be a copay, and Holliman did not want to pay since he expected the VA to cover the costs in the end.

Holliman said that a man then came to him at the Veterans Home on December 23 and requested that he sign paperwork for Medicare. After Holliman refused, the man took away the prosthetics.

VA spokesperson Matt Gowan said that "VA's Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service, which also has more than 600 local contracts with accredited orthotic and prosthetic providers, stands ready to deliver comprehensive support to optimize health and independence of our Veterans. If eligible Veterans do not wish to take advantage of these services, VA is unable to intervene and correct issues arising with personal purchases."

William C.F. Polglase, a press officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services referred Newsweek to a website link outlining how Medicare covers prosthetic limbs when reached for comment.

"Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers artificial limbs and eyes when your doctor orders them," the website information said. "You pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount, and the Part B deductible applies." It also noted that the "specific amount" an individual would pay depends on factors such as: "other insurance you may have," "how much your doctor charges," "whether your doctor accepts assignment," "the type of facility" and "where you get your test, item, or service."

"Hanger Clinic does not take back prosthetic devices after final delivery to a patient has been made," Hanger spokesperson Meghan Williams told the Ledger. But she noted that "final delivery" of prosthetics would only be complete after "a patient has signed a verification of receipt that allows a claim for payment to be submitted to the applicable insurance payer."

Newsweek has reached out to Hanger for additional comment.

Holliman's prosthetics were returned to him on January 2, after he met with a photographer and a reporter. He said that he still doesn't know why they were taken and then returned, but suspects it was because he reached out to the media.

However, adjustments are required as Holliman can't currently walk on the artificial limbs. He said the man who returned them said they would not be adjusted by Hanger until they were paid for.

High healthcare and insurance costs have taken center stage in the Democratic presidential primary, with the leading candidates divided over the best path forward to address soaring costs, high copays and uncovered treatments.

Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the leading progressive candidates, have advocated for significantly expanding Medicare to all Americans, while also greatly limiting the role of private insurance. Sanders has repeatedly noted on the campaign trail that he would expand Medicare to cover dental care, while also getting rid of copays and other costs under current insurance plans. The senator has often pointed out that most other wealthy and developed countries have similar government healthcare programs to the one he and Warren are proposing, which often result in better healthcare outcomes and lower costs than what currently exists in the U.S.

"Medicare for All means: - No premiums - No co-pays - No deductibles," Sanders wrote in a September tweet.

More moderate proposals by fellow candidates Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden advocate for expanding Medicare to cover more Americans, while retaining a significant role for private insurance. Buttigieg has dubbed his personal proposal "Medicare-for-all who want it."

Whether any of the Democratic candidates' proposals would address a problem like the one facing Holliman remains to be seen. For now, he just wants to be able to return to his home, but can't without being able to walk with his prosthetics.

"I was here for one thing — to get my prosthetic legs, learn how to walk in 'em, and go home," the Veteran told the Ledger.

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Jay Dover Romline, a local Veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1973-1976, volunteered to stand sentinel at the Field of Honor.

EAGLE, Idaho — The Eagle Field of Honor draws massive crowds each year, full of spectators looking to pay their respects and remember the sacrifices made for their freedoms.

Some choose to show their appreciation by volunteering. For Veterans and others, however, visiting the Field of Honor is a way to reflect.

Jay Dover Romline is a local Veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1973-1976 and was in the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment. He decided to volunteer to stand sentinel, a guard whose job is to stand and keep watch during the night.

"Tonight, I'm doing what they call Nightwatch," Romline said. "I'm just walking around from 10 [p.m.] to two [a.m.] to keep an eye on things and make sure that nobody tampers with the flags and everybody's respectful."

Romline will be accompanied by a friend and said he is more comfortable standing guard.

"It gives you a chance to think about, you know, maybe what you've done in the past, what you're doing now, where are you going," he said. "It's nice to have time to yourself, to spend alone and with your own thoughts."

Rather than just Veterans paying their respects, Romline feels touched that civilians are showing up to honor Veterans. He said this shows that although they may not have served themselves, they understand and appreciate what Veterans have done for the country.

"It's really heartwarming to know that the civilians appreciate that. All service counts. And even those that stand and wait to serve," he said. "So there are those that that serve mightily and they're those who've just served, but it all counts. It's all in service to the country."

The flags in the Field of Honor are purchased by members of the community to honor individual Veterans. All 600 flags have a yellow ribbon attached to them and contain the name, branch, rank and years of service.

Once the flags are taken down, the yellow ribbons will be given to the Veteran's families.

All money raised from the event will be donated to the Idaho Military Order of the Purple Heart, a Veteran's organization that raises awareness of combat-wounded Veterans and provides support to military Veterans and families.

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COLLINS, Miss. - The Department of Veterans Affairs has said it will make a new pair of prosthetic legs for a Mississippi Army Veteran who had his prosthetic legs repossessed two days before Christmas.

Jerry Holliman, 69, who served in Vietnam and Iraq and received the Bronze Star Medal, recently claimed that his legs had been repossessed and that the VA was not willing to pay for them. After his plight made headlines around the country, the VA office in Jackson said it would settle the dispute and is willing to make him a new set of prosthetic legs free of charge.

"We have reached out to Mr. Holliman and let him know that we would like to see him again," said Dr. David Walker, the medical center director at the Jackson VA, to Fox News. "We certainly are willing to evaluate him and make him a new set of prosthetic legs."

Holliman, who is considering taking legal action against the VA, told Fox News this week the government agency had refused to pay for a set of prosthetic legs he needed after a case of gangrene forced doctors to amputate both his legs below the knee.

“It’s something I’m thinking about doing. It’s like a roadblock that they don’t want to budge,” Holliman said at the time. “They won’t address my legs and they won’t do prothesis on them and they not paying me for loss of limb.”

Medical records show that Holliman has had several ailments over the years. He’s survived three forms of cancer, kidney failure, and diabetes--most of which he attributes to being exposed to Agent Orange, a tactical herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1975.

Last August, two months after doctors amputated his left leg, Holliman received a pair of prosthetic legs from Hanger. He had begun therapy sessions with the company at the Collins State Veterans Home to learn how to properly walk.

That all came to halt on Dec. 23 when a representative from Hanger repossessed his prosthetic legs after learning the VA would not pay for them. It was a huge blow to Holliman’s hopes of being able to return to home in Hattiesburg, Miss., for the holidays.

“It’s like somebody walked up to you and gave you a punch in the gut,” Holliman said. “Why would you come and take a Veteran’s legs?’

The set of prosthetic legs were returned to Holliman a few days later. However, Holliman said Hanger would no longer make the needed adjustments that allowed him to properly use the prosthetic legs until someone paid for them.

The VA told Holliman that the prosthetics legs were obtained as a private purchase, which precluded them from paying for them on his behalf. Instead, he said he was told to use Medicare to pay for them. He refused that option because he said using Medicare would have required him to pay a co-pay.

Krisita Burkey, the vice president of public relations and communications at Hanger, told Fox News in a statement that patient privacy laws prevented the company from talking about Holliman’s case specifically. However, she said, “Hanger does not take back prosthetic devices once a patient signs for the delivery.

"A signed verification of delivery is a necessary step in the delivery process due to regulations, but actual payment is not required upon delivery to the patient," the statement continued. "Payment is typically received from the applicable payer, whether it is a private insurer, Medicare/Medicaid or the VA, at a later date.”

Walker told Fox News that Holliman had come to the VA’s prosthetics department in Jackson shortly after his left leg was amputated. Holliman inquired about the VA making him a pair of prosthetic legs, but Walker said the VA was unable to begin the process at the time.

“We cannot begin a prosthetic evaluation until the skin is completely healed because of the pressure and the things that are required to wear and use a prosthetic device,” he explained.

Walker, who was given permission by Holliman to speak about the case to Fox News, said the 69-year-old never followed up with the VA after that visit. Instead, he said Holliman went to a private clinic and then to Hanger to obtain prosthetic legs.

“We want Veterans to use us,” Walker said. “If a Veteran chooses to go outside of our system, we cannot, unfortunately, take on the responsibilities for private purchases and that's the case.”

Holliman denied that he had gone to Hanger on his own to get prosthetic legs. He said he had no authority to make his own appointments and was following directives from medical personnel at the state-run Veterans home where he's resided for the last year.

After the VA's decision to give him a new set of prosthetic legs, Holliman told Fox News he accepted an appointment for later this month. However, after this ordeal, he remains skeptical.

“I can’t walk on proposals. I need to see it [to] fruition,” Holliman said. “I’m trying to recoup my life. I can’t do it on my own. I need the help of the VA.”

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Ret. Army Sgt. Joe Cantasano said he wants continuity of care with mental health providers

A retired Army sergeant is speaking out about his experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs after he posted an emotional TikTok video detailing his frustration with receiving continuity of care.

Joe Cantasano said the VA has let him down multiple times in the past few years and the only thing he is trying to get is "continuity of care with mental health providers." "What the f--k? These doctors keep quitting. They keep switching," he said in the May 17 video.

Cantasano shared that there was a breakdown in communication, and he was informed he couldn’t see the doctor who had been helping him work through some problems.

"Now I get to go back to some new f-----g doctor, and then they're going to open f-----g Pandora's box again because they're going to want to know everything, and then I'm going to have to live through working through that f-----g muck. I just want some f-----g continuity of care…," he said.

The Veteran told "Lawrence Jones Cross Country" it can take weeks or sometimes months for someone to finally get an appointment with a mental health provider.

"If you want to see a mental health provider outside of the VA because you're, you know, put yourself in my shoes where you go through five [or] six providers over the course of 15 months for a multitude of different reasons…and you decide you want to find somebody in your community, somebody stable…have a continuity of care that you generally have to go through your primary care provider…So you make an appointment [and] that can take upwards of 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes a month, depending on where you’re at and if your VA is busy," he explained.

"Then they will go ahead, go through and push you off to community care, and at which point community care can take up to two weeks to go ahead and contact you. Then they're going to go ahead and push out the referral to your prospective clinic. Then you have to wait for that clinic to accept a referral, review your file, onboard you and then make an appointment, you know, potentially two, three or four weeks, depending on how busy they are."

Cantasano posted an updated TikTok video saying the person responsible for the miscommunication had been fired. "I believe that I fell through the cracks and it was due to [the] negligence of an employee that's no longer with the physician that I want to go to," he said.

Cantasano posted an updated TikTok video saying the person responsible for the miscommunication had been fired. "I believe that I fell through the cracks and it was due to [the] negligence of an employee that's no longer with the physician that I want to go to," he said.

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Schwarzenegger made a $250,000 donation to Village for Vets to help build the 25 shelters

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday donated 25 tiny homes to homeless Veterans in West Los Angeles.

Schwarzenegger coordinated with Village for Vets, a nonprofit dedicated to providing food and shelter to homeless and at-risk Veterans, as well as Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and volunteer organization American Veterans (AMVETS) to build the tiny homes.

"Today, I celebrated Christmas early. The 25 homes I donated for homeless Veterans were installed here in LA," the former governor wrote in a Thursday tweet. "It was fantastic to spend some time with our heroes and welcome them into their new homes."

Village for Vets said in a Thursday tweet that Schwarzenegger's $250,000 donation to the nonprofit "made it possible" for the organization "to purchase and build the remaining 25 shelters" at the Los Angeles VA's Care Treatment Rehabilitative Services (CTRS) site.

"I've made and have this great success because of America," the former bodybuilder and actor born in Austria told Elex Michaelson, host of FOX 11 Los Angeles' show "The Issue Is." "If it isn't bodybuilding, if it isn't business, if it isn't show business, movies and politics — whatever I tackled I achieved because of America, so to me, it's always great to give something back."

Veteran Bruce Henry Cooper personally thanked Schwarzenegger in an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles.

"It's been a life-saver for me," Cooper, who lives in one of the tiny homes, told the outlet, adding that the former governor "has not forgotten…anybody."

AMVETS member Rob Reynolds told FOX 11 that the homes are equipped with electricity, heating and air conditioning.

Donations to Village for Vets go toward the organization's tiny shelters, which "provide an elevated standard of living from tent encampments while Veterans are on their journey to find permanent housing and stability," and other programs providing essential services to homeless and at-risk Veterans, according to the nonprofit's website.

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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Tonight we are hearing from Lubbock Congressman Jodey Arrington about why he voted against a bill to expand health care benefits for Veterans.

He joined nearly the entire Republican Party in voting against the bill.

The bill would provide presumptive health care benefits to Veterans who served around “burn pits.”

Those were fields of trash and debris burned in the middle east as far back as the Gulf War and throughout the entire “global war on terror.”

The PACT Act would presume certain disabilities and health issues after a Veteran’s service are connected to that exposure.

Congressman Arrington says he supports the idea, but the proposal is too expensive, and would create a backlog at the VA.

Here’s the statement the congressman sent exclusively to KCBD:

“We have a moral obligation to provide assistance to Veterans affected by burn pits, which is why I voted for H.R. 6659, the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act, a responsible and effective way to solve this serious problem. Unfortunately, Democrats - once again - jammed through the partisan PACT, which would waste billions of taxpayer dollars and worsen Veterans’ access to care by tripling the disability claims backlog for Veterans. West Texans expect their tax dollars to be spent on solving problems, not creating bigger ones.”

The bill Congressman Arrington supports does not presume any Veterans’ health care problems are directly tied to burn pit exposure.

Instead, it includes a year of open enrollment, and evaluations for coverage.

The congressman’s office tells us that bill would be cheaper and include fewer Veterans, so there would be less of a backlog.

The bill passed the senate unanimously, but does not have a date in the House.

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VA, DeepMind make progress on early detection of dangerous kidney condition

Researchers from VA and the artificial intelligence company DeepMind, part of Google, have developed technology that has the potential to predict a life-threatening kidney condition up to two days before it happens.

The findings appeared July 31 in the journal Nature.

Using VA data, the researchers developed an artificial intelligence model to detect acute kidney injury in patients up to 48 hours before it would otherwise be identified.

Acute kidney injury can progress to kidney failure that requires dialysis. It can also affect other organs and cause death. But treatment is often effective if it’s started before the condition progresses. Certain diseases, some antibiotics, and crushing wounds are among the causes of AKI. It is common among older people and certain groups of hospital patients.

In the study, the model predicted 56% of all in-patient episodes of AKI and 90% of the most severe cases, where the patient later required dialysis. Dialysis acts as a replacement for kidneys when they fail. It filters out wastes, salt, and extra water from the blood without removing what the body needs.

Acute kidney injury is often hard to predict. Patients can deteriorate very quickly once it occurs. Foreseeing the condition up to two days in advance can help doctors start treatment to prevent kidney breakdown.

“The important number is predicting 90% of the most severe AKI cases early, so slowing progression and preventing dialysis or transplant is feasible,” says Dr. Christopher Nielson, VA’s principal investigator on the study and the VA director of predictive analytics. “To evaluate this, you would need to do a randomized trial, which is being planned. Also, the risks of using artificial intelligence to identify patients at risk of needing dialysis are very low. The values of preventing dialysis and transplant are very high. If you save one person from renal failure or death, it’s worthwhile.”

The study used data on more than 700,000 de-identified VA patients. Computers analyzed a vast number of clinical and demographic data points to see which factors best predicted AKI.

VA has “trained and evaluated on a clinically representative set of patients,” write the researchers. But they acknowledge that the predominantly male population in the dataset “is not representative of the global population.” Other studies would be needed to ensure the model can apply outside the VA system.

Personalized medical care

Researchers at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System are now planning a clinical trial to test the model. Dr. Thomas Osborne, the chief medical informatics officer at VA Palo Alto, will lead the effort.

“We are working on ways to optimally integrate this important technology into our electronic health record,” he says, “so it will act as an early warning system and empower our clinicians to act even faster.

The team, for example, is creating a tool to visually display AKI risk factors for clinicians.

Osborne adds that the same strategies can potentially be used to address many other common medical conditions.

“This project is yet another way VA is investing in first-class personalized medical care,” he says. “With support from our executive leadership, we’re on course to making a far-reaching impact on our Veterans, as well as the rest of society.”

Visit the VA research website to read about other VA studies on kidney disease.

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Despite repeated calls from lawmakers to fill empty positions within the Department of Veterans Affairs, the number of staff vacancies rose to nearly 50,000 over the last year, according to the latest federal data.

Now a key Senate Democrat wants to know why the shortfall isn’t being fixed.

In a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie this week, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he has “serious concerns” that officials have not found a way to deal with the department’s “persistent workforce shortage” despite pressure and assistance from Congress.

“I remain consistently frustrated that VA medical facilities, particularly those in rural areas, are dramatically understaffed,” Tester wrote. “I regularly hear from Veterans throughout Montana and elsewhere that vacancies and constant turnover negatively impact how quickly they can get appointments, as well as the quality of their relationship with their doctor.”

The number of open positions within the department grew to more than 49,000 at the end of fiscal 2019, up about 3,000 from a year earlier. Of those, more than 43,000 are in the Veterans Health Administration.

Tester said lawmakers have offered new hiring incentives such as loan repayment and relocation incentives, but have been disappointed with the results thus far.

Union officials have also repeatedly attacked VA leaders for the problem, saying that the administration has been more focused on promoting new private-sector health care options for Veterans than filling open positions.

VA officials said they will respond Tester’s letter in private. But in a statement, VA Press Secretary Christina Mandreucci said many of the vacancies can be attributed to “normal retirements and job changes” and not widespread problems with department hiring practices.

“VA’s number of vacancies is a normal part of doing business and is not negatively impacting our ability to provide Veterans care,” she said. “The best indicator of adequate staffing levels is not vacancies, but Veteran access to care and health care outcomes. By those standards, VA is doing well.”

The department’s staff grew nearly 4 percent from the end of fiscal 2018 to the end of fiscal 2019. While the vacancy totals also grew, the vacancy rate remained around 11 percent, which VA leaders have said is in line with most other federal agencies.

Mandreucci said that on an annual basis “VA hires more employees than it loses, to replace turnover and keep up with the growth in demand for services.”

But Tester said the department can still do more. He is asking for a better breakdown of the vacancies from VA officials, to include the effectiveness of new recruiting and retention efforts.

“Veterans across the country continue to face the effects of an understaffed VA,” he wrote. “It is essential that the department makes full use of the authorities provided by Congress and identify any challenges in implementation.”

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Ascension Michigan and related hospitals, Providence Park Hospital, St. John Hospital and Medical Center, St. John Macomb Oakland Hospital and Ascension Crittenton Hospital (collectively, Ascension Michigan), all located in Michigan, have agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting or causing the submission of false claims for payment to federal health care programs related to alleged medically unnecessary procedures performed by a gynecologic oncologist (“the Doctor”).

“When hospitals receive payment from federal health care programs for medically unnecessary surgical procedures, they cannot simply retain those payments; they have an obligation to return them,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately for the important programs that they support.”

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, from Feb. 1, 2011, through June 30, 2017, Ascension Michigan knowingly submitted false claims for payment to federal health care programs and improperly retained payment for professional and facility fees related to medically unnecessary radical hysterectomies that the Doctor performed, chemotherapy services that the Doctor administered or ordered that were not medically necessary, and evaluation and management services by the Doctor that were not performed or not rendered as represented. The government alleged that Ascension Michigan had concerns about the quality of care provided by the Doctor due to patient complaints and his suspected higher than average rates of pulmonary embolisms and surgical infections. The government further alleged that, as a result of these concerns, Ascension Michigan engaged a third-party doctor to conduct a peer review of a sample of the Doctor’s patients, which found that, for the majority of the radical hysterectomies and chemotherapy performed by the Doctor, a less aggressive surgery or medical intervention would have been the standard of care.

“Health care providers cannot avoid their obligation to repay government funds owed to federal health care programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will vigorously pursue those who knowingly fail to repay monies they have received based on services that were not medically necessary or not rendered as billed.”

On June 28, 2018, Ascension Michigan made a submission under the Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), related to professional and facility fees it billed to federal health care programs for services provided by the Doctor. Though Ascension Michigan initially improperly retained the monies that it collected related to its billings, Ascension Michigan cooperated in the government’s investigation and took active steps to address concerns related to the Doctor by: (i) engaging a third-party doctor to conduct the peer review; (ii) placing the Doctor on a performance improvement plan; (iii) ending its contractual relationship with the Doctor; and (iv) submitting the self-disclosure.

“Our agency will continue to hold accountable medical providers who perform medically unnecessary procedures and then inappropriately bill federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of HHS-OIG. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate such misconduct to protect beneficiaries and the taxpayer-funded health care programs serving those beneficiaries.”

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought by Pamela Satchwell, Dawn Kasdorf and Bethany Silva-Gomez under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under these provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Satchwell v. Ascension Health, No. 17-CV-12315 (E.D. Mich.). Relators will receive a combined payment in the amount $532,000.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from HHS-OIG and the U.S. Defense Health Agency, Office of Program Integrity.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was investigated by Trial Attorney Denise Barnes of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bell-Harbin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Clinicians with Charles George VA Medical Center (CGVAMC) in Asheville are participating in a study looking at the effect’s statins have on the elderly.

Asheville's VA is one of 50 VA medical centers across the nation taking part in the study focused on older people.

The VA explains that statins are drugs used by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, but most of the research surrounding them has focused on middle-aged people. This new study the VA is participating in, called PREVENTABLE, focuses on how taking the statin atorvastatin (sold as Lipitor) could help adults 75 and older who don’t have cardiovascular disease improve their lives by preventing dementia, disability or heart disease.

“This is a very large study addressing a clinical question that is a quandary to patients and providers alike,” Dr. Brian Peek, CGVAMC Chief of Pharmacy and Associate Chief of Staff for Research, said in a news release. “Most providers have had to deal with questions about statins without as much information as needed.” Others on the team at CGVAMC are Dr. Michael Lindow and Pharmacist Angela Pentecost – both co-investigators, and Research Study Coordinator Jessica Michael.

The VA network is one of 100 health systems represented in the research. With the large number of sites and a plan to include 20,000 participants in the 75-plus age range, PREVENTABLE stands to be among the largest-ever health studies in older adults.

Veterans who receive their health care at the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System can participate by contacting the study team at 828-298-7911 ext. 4245.

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HR 2580 and S 1151 will provide for the treatment of Veterans who participated in the cleanup of Palomares, Spain as radiation-exposed Veterans for purposes of the presumption of service-connection of certain disabilities by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

It is time to move these bills off dead center and provide these Veterans their earned benefits while they are still alive. These Veterans risked their lives in what was a major international incident.

Please contact your Member of Congress and Senators and ask them to co-sponsor these bills

TAKE ACTION

S 2189 and HR 1014 will direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to a veteran who has a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS). MVA has reviewed a number of studies concerning HBOT treatment for PTS and TBI and there are positive indications associated with this treatment. Our interviews with MVA members who served in combat or in Special Operations also point to an affirmative correlation between HBOT and PTS/TBI. We believe that HBOT could potentially open up a more successful treatment pathway for these invisible wounds.

TAKE ACTION

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Howard Hoffberg, M.D., age 65, of Reisterstown, Maryland, today, to eight months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statutes, in connection with a scheme to accept payments from a pharmaceutical company in exchange for prescribing a fentanyl-based drug.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, Howard Hoffberg, is a doctor and was licensed to practice medicine in the State of Maryland. He served as the Associate Medical Director and part-owner of Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management (the “Practice”). The Practice’s Medical Director was Norman Rosen, who worked primarily at the Practice’s Towson, Maryland locations. Hoffberg principally worked at the Practice’s location in Owings Mills, Maryland, but at times also was at the Practice’s locations in Towson, Maryland.

Hoffberg was a Medicare provider and submitted claims to Medicare, which is federal healthcare program. In September 2011, Hoffberg certified to Medicare that he would comply with Medicare rules and regulations, including that he would refrain from violating the federal anti-kickback statute. Further, in August 2013, Hoffberg certified to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), as part of his ability to prescribe drugs known as Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl (“TIRF”) drugs, that: (a) he understood TIRF drugs are indicated only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients; (b) he understood that TIRF drugs can be abused by patients; and (c) he understood that one TIRF drug is not interchangeable with another TIRF drug.  

As detailed in his plea agreement, starting in June 2012, Hoffberg solicited and received kickbacks and bribes for himself in the form of payments from Insys Therapeutics, Inc. (“Insys”) (a pharmaceutical company) and related entities. In January 2012, the FDA approved Insys’s application to sell and market a TIRF drug named Subsys to treat cancer patients experiencing break-through pain, which is a sudden onset of pain in cancer patients that cannot be controlled with their usual treatment regimen. Subsys is a potent opioid designed to rapidly enter a patient’s bloodstream upon being sprayed under the tongue. Subsys contains fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid pain reliever that has a high potential for abuse and addiction.

According to the plea agreement, because of the limited number of cancer patients experiencing breakthrough pain who fit the FDA-approved criteria, Insys devised an illegal kickback and bribery scheme to induce Hoffberg and others to prescribe Subsys off-label for conditions other than breakthrough pain in cancer patients. In order to conceal and disguise that kickbacks and bribes were being paid to Hoffberg to prescribe Subsys, Insys falsely designated the payments to Hoffberg as “honoraria” for purportedly providing educational programs about Subsys (the “Speakers Bureau Program”). Hoffberg admitted that his participation in the Speakers Bureau Program was a sham. Hoffberg often made these presentations at high-end restaurants, and to staff at the Practice and/or to persons who could not even prescribe controlled substances. Hoffberg knew that these presentations were not designed to promote any bona fide educational initiative about Subsys but rather were required to receive the honoraria.

Hoffberg was paid $66,600 by Insys and knew that these payments were kickbacks and bribes that were paid, at least in part, to induce Hoffberg to prescribe, or in exchange for Hoffberg prescribing, Subsys. As part of the scheme, through January 2018 Hoffberg prescribed Subsys to patients of the Practice who were not suffering from cancer, some of whose insurance coverage was paid for, in whole or in part, by a federal healthcare program. Further, Hoffberg admitted that he switched several other patients to Subsys from another fentanyl-based drug because of the kickbacks he received from Insys, even though he previously certified that TIRF drugs were not interchangeable.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the DEA, HHS-OIG, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.   Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason D. Medinger, who prosecuted the case.

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John Edward James Jr. doesn’t have any special advice for living to 100.

“When I get hungry, I eat. When I get sleepy, I go to bed,” James said Monday, his 100th birthday.

He does believe in getting his rest.

“He’s been going to bed at 8 o’clock every night since I was a baby,” said daughter Marion Lane, 71.

He also never smoked or drank alcohol, she said.

About 15 relatives — his two surviving daughters, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a few other close kin celebrated with a small party Sunday at James’ home in the Elmwood section of Philadelphia.

“We had food and a birthday cake,” Lane said. “But we tried to be safe, and we all wore masks,” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

James has outlived two wives, and he often jokes that he’s “looking for his third wife.”

He appears in remarkable condition at 100.

He lives on his own. He cuts his own grass, and he drives a mile and a half to the grocery store. In addition to his own shopping, he also shops for a disabled neighbor.

“There are 30 stairs in this three-story townhouse, and he goes up and down them all the time,” Lane said. “And he’s not limping. But both his daughters — my sister and I — are limping.”

James was born June 15, 1920, in Johnstown, Pa., but grew up in Charles City County, Va., across the river from Jamestown.

After graduating from high school, James moved to Philadelphia because there weren’t many jobs in his rural hometown.

In 1941, at age 21, he was drafted into the Army, and in 1942, James completed Officer Training School at Fort Benning, Ga.

He was one of 21 men of color who graduated, most of whom were assigned to be in charge of all-black troops.

However, because James was assigned to the 242nd Quartermaster Battalion, he would have been placed in charge of white officers if the Army gave him his commission as second lieutenant.

James and his family believe he was denied the commission because of his skin color. He identifies as multi-racial, with African, Native American, and European ancestry.

During World War II, he worked in five campaigns, in North Africa and in Italy, from the toe of the boot up to the Apennines in the north. He wasn’t in combat, but served on the front lines as a clerk-typist.

After Lane waged a three-year campaign, the Army finally issued his commission in 2018.

The Museum of the American Revolution hosted the June 2018 ceremony, shortly after his 98th birthday and about 75 years late.

The museum featured James in a profile that said:

“James descends from a long line of men who served in the military, dating back to the American Revolution during which his great-great-great-grandfather served as a sergeant and was at the Valley Forge encampment in 1777-78. In addition to the Sons of the American Revolution and the Sons of the Revolution, James is a member of the Society of Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge.”

After the Army, James returned to Philadelphia and met and married Mary Elizabeth Ficklin, daughter of a prominent Baptist minister.

(The Ficklin family has its own long history of working in the White House, from 1939 to 2016, serving as butlers or as maitres d’. The last one, John Wrory Ficklin, retired in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior director for records and access management at the National Security Council.)

James attended mortuary college after his Army service, but was put on a waiting list to become an apprentice with a funeral director.

Because his wife was expecting their first child, he couldn’t wait to become an apprentice. He went to work for what is now the U.S. Postal Service and stayed for 30 years. For the first 15 years, he was a letter carrier, and later was a manager until he retired in 1976.

John and Mary James raised three daughters at 51st and Race Streets in West Philadelphia: Brenda Watts, Lane, and Denise Pearson, who died in 2009.

His first wife died in 1969. Then, in 1971, James married Doris Reavis, who was his first girlfriend in high school in Virginia. They were married until her death in 2001.

James doesn’t believe in talking much.

“He used to tell us, ‘The only fish that doesn’t get caught is the one that kept his mouth closed,'” Lane said.

On Monday, James said he was excited to have his family celebrate with him. He said it felt “fantastic” to be 100.

His other popular advice to his children:

“'Don’t let a ‘no’ stop you. If you go down this road and run into a ‘no,’ don’t give up your hopes. Take another road, and you can achieve your goals.’”

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With cost imperiling a $282 billion bill that would help those exposed to burn pits, as well as Vietnam Veterans with hypertension, two senators are proposing a much less expensive compromise that could still help more than 1 million Veterans get Department of Veterans Affairs health care.

Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, the committee's ranking Republican, introduced a bill Tuesday that would create a one-year enrollment period for VA medical care for post-9/11 combat Veterans who served after 1998 and never enrolled. It would also extend the enrollment period for all formerly deployed post-9/11 combat Vets from five years to 10.

The bill, called the Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act, would allow Veterans discharged after Sept. 11, 2001, to qualify. The senators peg the cost at less than $1 billion.

But advocates are outraged over what they see as a breakdown of major legislative initiatives, estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, that would help former service members or their survivors -- the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT, Act, and the Comprehensive and Overdue Support for Troops, or COST of War Act -- since Tester and Moran's bill doesn't include disability compensation or a list of illnesses presumed to be related to exposure eligible for expedited benefits.

"How does the expansion of health care help the survivors filing for death benefits?" tweeted Rosie Torres, co-founder of the nonprofit Burn Pits 360 group. "Stop the delay and deny! Grant presumption!"

"Putting a band aid on a open sucking chest wound with your bulls--- legislation," tweeted activist John Feal. "These men and [women] need better, deserve better, earned better and you failed them! I will dedicate my life to ensure you fail again!"

The senators said the legislation would expand VA health care to at least 1 million of the 3.5 million Veterans who served and were exposed to burn pits and other types of pollution while deployed but don't have access to VA care.

"As more and more Veterans report alarming rates of toxic exposure-related illnesses, one thing is abundantly clear: Without action, post-9/11 Veterans will suffer as Vietnam Veterans have," Tester said during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

"This is the first step on a continuum of trying to make certain that those who experienced toxic exposure and, as a result, are suffering in their health and well-being, receive medical benefits," Moran said.

The new proposal comes as the House of Representatives is poised to debate the $282 billion legislative package that would expand health care and provide disability compensation to millions of Veterans, including Vietnam Vets with hypertension and anyone who has served since 1990 in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere and has exposure-related illnesses.

Tester has introduced a similar $223 billion bill that has been approved by the Veterans Committee but has yet to be considered by the full Senate.

Both proposals have received pushback from legislators about their cost.

Tester and Moran's bill would be the first step in a three-pronged approach to providing Veterans with care and benefits, according to the senators.

"The goal here is to get this done by the end of this Congress," Tester said.

"It's the kind of legislation that would be able to be supported in a bipartisan way and signed by the president," Moran said of the new proposal.

The lawmakers said the latest proposal is supported by the largest Veterans service organizations, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, along with Disabled American Veterans, Wounded Warrior Project, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

According to the senators, the next step in expanding benefits to affected Veterans would be to ensure that the VA is establishing illnesses that are considered service-connected in a transparent way, followed by providing benefits to ill Veterans who have been "long ignored or forgotten."

Moran noted that the VA has been making progress on establishing illnesses presumed related to exposure to burn pits, beginning last year when it named three conditions -- rhinitis, asthma and sinusitis -- as related and eligible for expedited benefits.

"The Department of Veterans Affairs has the authority, legal authority, to deal with presumptions, and they are in the process of doing so," Moran said. "They have a pilot program to determine how best to utilize the authorities they have in regard to presumptions."

The VA also is reviewing data and research to determine whether some types of cancer and a rare lung disease, known as constrictive bronchiolitis, should be added to the list of presumptive illnesses. Decisions on these conditions are expected this year.

In addition to expanding VA health care eligibility, the proposal would require the department to provide screenings for toxic exposure during medical appointments; increase education and training requirements for VA health care and benefits personnel on toxic exposures; and require the department to reach out to Veterans on exposures and related VA care and benefits.

The bill also would increase federal research on toxic exposures.

Moran said he expects the bill to pass the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday and be considered by the full chamber shortly.

He also anticipated that a similar bill would be proposed in the House.

"Certainly, there's no question but we're going to work with the House," Moran said. "We are taking our first step, our step of three, and we're guessing the legislation is going to pass Congress."

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About 46,000 Veterans had their personal information exposed after hackers breached Veterans Affairs computer systems used to send payments to outside medical providers, department officials announced Monday.

VA leaders said they have already notified the affected individuals, and that Veterans who did not receive an alert need not be worried about their accounts. They described the incident as limited in scope but potentially concerning for the Veterans involved.

The department’s Office of Finance has shut down access to the payments system amid a comprehensive security review of the problem.

In a statement, officials said that a preliminary review indicated that “unauthorized users gained access to the application to change financial information and divert payments from VA by using social engineering techniques and exploiting authentication protocols.”

Department officials did not specify what information may have been stolen or over how long the system exploit took place. They did say that VA will offer free access to credit monitoring services to any individuals whose social security numbers may have been compromised.

At least some of the cases may have involved Veterans who are deceased. Officials said in those cases, next of kin would be notified of the problem.

The incident is not the first time in recent years that Veterans had their personal information exposed by federal technology problems.

In 2015, Social Security numbers, family information, health records and even fingerprints of more than 21.5 million federal employees — including troops and Veterans — were included in a massive data theft at the Office of Personnel Management. In 2012, more than 2,000 Veterans had their personal information accidentally posted online when the Department of Veterans Affairs shared information with a privately-run genealogy site.

And in 2006, more than 26 million Veterans and military personnel had their information exposed when a VA employee’s laptop was stolen from his home in Maryland. That incident prompted congressional hearings and investigations into the department’s data security procedures.

Individuals with questions from the latest data breach should reach out to VA’s Financial Services Center.

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Michael Erber was also Convicted of Stealing Approximately $200,000 in Lottery Winnings

From a Veteran Who Sought Housing Assistance

BROOKLYN – Attorney General Letitia James announced the sentencing of Michael Erber (“Erber”), 62, of Brooklyn for stealing money intended to pay the rent of homeless New York City Veterans from four Community Based Organizations. Erber was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 10 ½-21 years. On January 21, 2020, Erber was convicted after a jury trial of four counts of Grand Larceny in the third Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. Erber was also convicted of one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree for stealing lottery winnings from a disabled Veteran.

“Stealing money that is earmarked for our homeless Veterans is truly an immoral and reprehensible act,” said Attorney General James. “This individual stole money directly from the hands of non-profits, and denied homeless Veterans access to desperately-needed shelters and a safe place to call home. We will never tolerate such actions, and I will continue to do everything within my power to hold those who take advantage of vulnerable communities accountable."

According to evidence produced during trial in Supreme Court, Kings County, Erber operated an organization known as MAG-V, a New York not-for-profit. MAG-V recruited homeless Veterans with promises of housing and job training, posting fliers with numerous homeless shelters and community based organizations. Erber also personally recruited Veterans and case managers from these organizations.

As the evidence proved, after selecting Veterans in need of housing, MAG-V entered into master lease agreements with landlords in Brooklyn and The Bronx, and then Mag-V subleased with the Veterans. MAG-V then obtained federal funding intended for homeless Veterans or Veterans at risk of becoming homeless, for their rental payments from Community Based Organizations (“CBOs”) in New York City. Unbeknownst to the CBOs or the Veterans, Erber did not pay the landlords any of the funds provided by the CBOs to pay the rent where the Veterans were housed. As a result of this scheme Erber stole more than $3,000 each from four separate CBOs, more than $67,000 in total.

In addition to stealing money from the CBO’s, the Attorney General’s Office presented evidence that the defendant stole money directly from the individual Veterans who were being housed by Mag-V. The federal funding from the CBO’s was meant as start-up money to help get the Veterans out from the streets and shelters and into stable housing, enabling them to eventually start paying rent on their own. After the CBO’s ended their funding assistance, the Veterans paid rent money directly to Erber, but again, Erber pocketed the rent money and did not pay the landlords. As a result, all of the Veterans were evicted for non-payment of rent.

The jury also convicted Erber of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, for stealing $200,000 from John Pickett, a disabled Veteran, who won a lottery jackpot in 2015. According to Mr. Pickett’s testimony and evidence, after he won the lottery, Mr. Pickett was constantly pressured by Erber to invest the lottery winnings with MAG-V. In exchange, Erber promised the Veteran a paid position on MAG-V’s board of directors and offered to help him find permanent housing, as well as a paid job with Mag-V, none of which Erber ever did. Based on these false pretenses, Erber stole approximately $200,000 from the Veteran.

Based on bank records produced at trial, the Attorney General’s Office demonstrated Erber spent more than $110,000 on rental cars and more than $41,000 to buy a car.

The defendant was sentenced by Judge Donald Leo in Kings County Supreme Court Part 16. The defendant has two prior felony convictions.

The Attorney General’s Office thanks the Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General (VA OIG) for their assistance on this case.

“This sentencing sends a clear message that VA OIG and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue anyone who seeks to victimize vulnerable Veterans and their families who are deserving of VA benefits,” said VA OIG Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Stachowiak. “We appreciate the efforts of the VA’s Management Review Service for referring this matter to us and the New York State Office of Attorney General for successfully prosecuting this case to achieve this important outcome.”

The investigation was conducted by Investigator Walter Lynch, under the supervision of Deputy Chief John McManus, and with the assistance of Deputy Chief Auditor Sandy Bizzarro. The Investigations Division is led by Chief Investigator John Reidy.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney Generals Nazy Modiri from the Real Estate Enforcement Unit and Russell Satin from the Public Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Public Integrity Chief Travis Hill. Assisting on the case was Legal Support Analyst Jack Jones and Senior Legal Support Analyst Rachel Demma. The Criminal Justice Division is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice José Maldonado.

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Roughly 30,000 people had been expected at the parade

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has invited military Veterans in Austin, Texas to gather at the state capitol building after their Veterans Day parade was cancelled due to the city’s coronavirus restrictions.

"The City of Austin's overreaching COVID requirements have forced the Austin Veterans Parade Foundation to cancel their annual event," the Republican governor tweeted Tuesday. "I'm inviting them to host a rally on the south steps of the Texas State Capitol. We celebrate our nation's heroes in Texas."

"This is something that we could not do as we anticipated some 30,000 attendees to the parade," the parade organizers said in a statement. "We are hopeful that in 2022, the restrictions on public gatherings will be back to normal. In lue of the parade, we are working with the City of Austin and the Austin Veterans Commission to dedicate the Veterans Park on Nov. 11th."

The parade organizers later announced that they have "respectfully declined" Abbott’s invitation and noted that they have already committed to an event dedicating Veterans Pocket Park in Austin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to Fox 7 Austin.

Austinites responded on social media.

Q2 Stadium, where Austin FC plays its home games, seats more than 20,000 fans and has been operating at 100% capacity this season.

"The Veterans Park will be the only event that the Austin Veterans Parade Foundation will be involved in this year," the organization said. "It is our hope that we can have our Veterans Day parade and celebration next year and that everyone will stay safe on this Veterans Day!"

Census Bureau data from 2020 shows that roughly 1.4 million military Veterans live in the state of Texas which represents 6.8% of the state’s overall population.

"It's a slap in the face to those who served. It's for an open air parade," Luis Rodriguez, head of the Wind Therapy Motorcycle Freedom Riders, a military support group, told Axios. "They allowed Formula 1 to go ahead, and that had five times the number of people as the Super Bowl. They did nothing to shut that down. They’re playing politics with the honor of Veterans and those who have served this country."

The city of Austin gave Fox News Digital the following statement:

"Every year, Austin Center for Events (ACE) works with the Austin Veterans Parade Foundation, the event organizers of the Veterans Parade, as they plan for this important event to honor the American heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country.

Over the summer, we proactively reached out to the event organizer to work through the event permitting process and help them understand health mitigation requirements for special events. The organizers did not submit a COVID-19 Health & Safety form to Austin Public Health for review. On September 28th, the organizers notified ACE that they decided to cancel the event citing the health requirements for an event with 30,000 attendees. At this time, Austin was in Stage 4 of the Risk Based Guidelines and the region had 25 ICU beds left to serve millions of Central Texans. The City is now working with the Parade Foundation on a ribbon cutting dedication ceremony for the Veteran’s Pocket Park.

ACE, which includes Austin Public Health (APH), reviews COVID-19 safety for special events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ACE and APH have met regularly, at least every 30 days, to review safety requirements. Over the last 18 months, those requirements have evolved based on current conditions, including the Austin-Travis County Risk-Based Guidelines. A document, Bringing Events Back: Austin-Travis County COVID-19 Safety Guide for Venues & Special Events, was developed and is regularly updated to help indoor venues and outdoor events understand COVID safety at events. The current event guidelines which regulate events permitted by the Austin Center for Events are designed to create the safest environment possible.

Currently, an event must be able to follow the enhanced mitigation criteria:

Conduct screening of all attendees including but not limited to requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of entering an event.

• Develop strategies for maintaining at least 6 feet of social distancing.

• Include "mask zones" in outdoor event areas where social distancing is not possible.

For indoor events with 1,000+ attendees, and outdoor events with 2,500+, the submitted Health and Safety Form must be approved by the Austin Public Health Department. An APH staff member will review an applicant’s form and either approve their plans or work with them on strengthening mitigation efforts so they can hold a safe event. As conditions improve, we will continue working with event organizers to implement measures that reduce the risk of spreading COVID."

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Barstool Sports will donate $182,000 to a charity that helps Veterans receive mental healthcare treatment after the sports blog’s founder promised he’d match donations in a “spur of the moment” tweet -- but he doesn't seem to regret the decision.

It all started Monday when a popular Barstool personality known simply as Uncle Chaps, who is a Marine who hosts military podcast “Zero Blog Thirty,” celebrated Veteran’s Day by tweeting his fan base to donate funds to Headstrong – a group that aims to provide “confidential, cost-free, and frictionless” services to Veterans dealing with military trauma.

“’I’m gonna open my Venmo and donate everything to @HeadstrongProj which helps Veterans dealing with PTSD,” Chaps tweeted. “Let’s change some lives on a Monday.”

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took notice and announced he would match the final tally, which seemed to encourage the site’s massive fan base to open their wallets and donate through Venmo, a social payment service.

“Let’s bankrupt Dave and change some lives tonight. Win-win,” Chaps wrote.

Portnoy joked throughout the evening that he was “in the dark” about how much he’d owe, while using a grimacing face emoji to respond to an update that he would owe at least $26,000. When the midnight deadline finally hit, Barstool fans donated $91,000, meaning Portnoy would match the total and shell out another $91,000 himself for a total of $182,000.

“So this spur of the moment tweet cost me 91k. The way @UncleChaps was talking I thought 10k was the goal. He sandbagged me,” Portnoy joked. “Still a great cause and happy to donate.”

Headstrong, a partner of Weill Cornell Medicine, quickly took to Twitter to thank Portnoy and Barstool for their efforts.

“We can’t thank you enough. This is truly awesome and making a huge difference in our mission. Thank you for everything,” the Headstrong Project’s Twitter account wrote.

Headstrong is a nonprofit that aims to heal “the hidden wounds of war” that impact post-9/11 Veteran and their families.

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The Medicare Fraud Strike Force (“MFSF”) is part of a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud through enhanced interagency cooperation. Its purpose is to focus on the worse offenders in fraud, in the highest intensity regions, using data analysis techniques to identify abnormal billing levels in health care fraud “hot spots,” i.e., cities with unusually high levels of billing and other fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice currently maintains 15 strike forces operations in 24 federal districts and has charged more than 4,600 defendants who have collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers for approximately $23 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

As part of the recent National Enforcement Action, Acting United States Attorney Ellison C. Travis announced new charges against two individuals for health care related crimes in Baton Rouge. On September 9, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment charging Terry Steven Wilks, Jr., age 39, of Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, and Leslie Amanda McHugh, age 36, of Riverview, Florida, with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive kickbacks, offering and paying kickbacks, and soliciting and receiving kickbacks.

According to the indictment, Wilks was the owner of Acadian Diagnostic Laboratories, LLC, a clinical laboratory based in Baton Rouge that provided diagnostic testing services, including urine drug testing. Acadian was enrolled as a Medicare and a TRICARE provider. McHugh was formerly a registered nurse licensed in the State of Florida. The indictment alleges that in 2015, the Florida Board of Nursing revoked McHugh’s nursing license, and in 2016, Medicare excluded her from participation in all federal health care programs. According to the indictment, despite her exclusion and subsequent purported termination from Acadian, Wilks continued to pay McHugh to refer doctors’ orders and specimens to Acadian for urine drug testing in exchange for kickback payments. These payments were allegedly made in cash, as well as funneled through a company created by Wilks. The indictment alleges that from August 2017 to April 2018, Wilks and McHugh caused Acadian to submit approximately $549,580 in claims to Medicare and $17,612 in claims to TRICARE for laboratory testing services that were referred by McHugh in exchange for kickback payments.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis stated, “My office will continue to work tirelessly with our outstanding federal, state and local partners to identify and bring justice to those who commit healthcare related crimes. This takedown was a team effort, and I commend the excellent work performed by our prosecutors and the men and women of the agencies involved.”

“Today's indictment sends a clear message to individuals like Terry Wilks and Leslie McHugh who engage in kickback schemes which defraud health care programs that they will be held accountable. Mr. Wilks and Ms. McHugh took advantage of a system set up to help patients get much-needed government assistance and instead benefitted themselves," said FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams, Jr. "We would like to thank our state and federal partners with the Medicare Fraud Strike Force for their strong partnership and unrelenting pursuit of justice."

Miranda L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Dallas Region, stated: “Today’s indictment is yet another example of our commitment to vigorously defend the Medicare Trust Fund. Paying and receiving kickbacks for referrals undermines federal health care programs. We will continue to pursue those who conduct fraudulent kickback schemes to safeguard the beneficiaries of these programs.”

“I applaud my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to end criminal activity, especially when it is being perpetuated by people who are supposed to be taking care of our State’s vulnerable,” said Attorney General Jeff Landry.

This matter is being investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and was brought as part of the MFSF, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen L. Craig and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Justin M. Woodard.

NOTE: An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.

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BAY CITY - A vascular surgeon from Bay City, Michigan pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield out of approximately $19.5 million, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Joshua Hauxhurst of the FBI’s Detroit Division and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

Pleading guilty was Dr. Vasso Godiali, 59.

According to the plea agreement, Godiali began knowingly defrauding the three medical insurers in approximately 2009 and did so by causing the submission of false billing to all three insurers. As evidenced in the plea agreement, Godiali’s false and fraudulent billing includes admissions related to claims for the placement of stents in dialysis patients and for the treatment of arterial blood clots. Godiali admitted that he billed for the placement of multiple stents in the same vessel, and prepared medical records purporting to document the medical necessity justifying that billing. In fact, Godiali did not place those stents, and he admitted to billing the insurers for services never rendered while preparing materially inaccurate medical records to justify the fraudulent billing. With respect to arterial blood clots, the plea agreement documents a similar pattern of misconduct. Godiali acknowledged that his medical records would describe encountering occluded arteries that would appear to justify the performance of arterial thrombectomies. In fact, as Godiali admitted that he often encountered no such occlusions, performed no such thrombectomies, and thus billed insurers for services never rendered while preparing false medical records to justify the fraudulent claims.

“The scale of Dr. Godiali’s fraud is stunning and his willingness to illegally enrich himself at the expense of our district’s taxpayers and policyholders is egregious.” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “Brazen schemes like this have no place in our district, and today’s guilty plea reflects my office’s commitment to holding medical providers accountable when they abuse society’s trust by engaging in such misconduct.”

“When Dr. Godiali submitted claims for medical services that were never provided, he violated the trust of his patients and defrauded taxpayer-funded health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto. "HHS-OIG agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate medical providers who prey on beneficiaries and steal from federal health care programs."

“Today’s guilty plea should send a clear message to all health care providers that health care fraud is a federal crime that carries serious consequences and will not be tolerated,” said Josh P. Hauxhurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “In partnership with federal, state, and private sector partners, the FBI will work diligently to identify these fraud schemes and hold parties who execute them accountable.”

Sentencing is set for September 15, 2022. Godiali faces up to ten years’ imprisonment and the forfeiture of $19.5 million. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Godiali will be required to pay $19.5 in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. A civil forfeiture case against approximately $39.9 million seized from accounts controlled by Godiali remains pending.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the HHS and FBI, with cooperation and assistance from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John K. Neal, Philip A. Ross, and Craig F. Wininger with assistance from the Michigan Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division.

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PORTLAND, Ore.—A Bend, Oregon resident and his residential care company have agreed to pay $2.9 million to settle allegations by United States and the State of Oregon that the company submitted false reimbursement claims to the Oregon Medicaid program.

Kevin Cox, 51, and At Home Care LLC, doing business as At Home Care Group (AHCG), will pay $1.86 million to the United States and $1.04 million to the State of Oregon.

AHCG also waived indictment and pleaded guilty today in Deschutes County Circuit Court to two counts of making a false claim for health care payment.

“Individuals and companies who submit false claims to federally-backed state health care programs increase health care costs for everyone,” said Scott Erik Asphaug, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We take health care fraud very seriously and will continue to hold accountable those who undermine the integrity of these important programs.”

“This national pandemic has put an unprecedented strain on our health care system. There is never a time for Medicaid providers to enrich themselves with fraudulent schemes—but now is certainly not the time. This case shows you that we will work aggressively with our federal law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute providers that victimize our most vulnerable Oreognians and the programs that serve them,” said Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum.

“Health care providers should regard Medicaid as a lifeline for vulnerable beneficiaries in need of wellness services, not as a financial reserve for personal enrichment,” stated Steven Ryan, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “To assist in preserving Federal health care programs, our agency and law enforcement partners investigate and cease wrongful activity that compromises their funds.”

AHCG provided in-home medical and non-medical care to individuals in Oregon. The United States and State of Oregon contend that, between March 2013 and September 2018, AHCG altered caregiver scheduling calendars and billed the Oregon Medicaid program for hours of in-home care not actually performed.

As part of the settlement, AHCG and Cox will be excluded from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federal health care programs for 15 and 8 years, respectively.

Acting U.S. Attorney Asphaug and Attorney General Rosenblum made the announcement.

This settlement was the result of a coordinated investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Oregon Department of Justice Medicaid Fraud Unit, and Oregon Health Authority. The United States was represented in this matter by Alexis Lien, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. Senior Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Ballard Colgrove led this case for the Oregon Department of Justice.

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Between 1952 and 1987, nearly one million Marines, sailors, civilian employees, and military family members unknowingly drank, cooked with, and bathed in contaminated water while living or working at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. This water contamination is considered among the worst in U.S. history. Veterans are entitled to benefits for disabilities resulting from or exacerbated by their military service, including those caused by toxic exposure, but the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) has denied the overwhelming majority of claims based on the Camp Lejeune water contamination.

In 2012, VA quietly inserted a new step into the disability adjudication process specifically for Camp Lejeune claims. Through this program, VA directs all Camp Lejeune claims to an anonymous group of Subject Matter Experts (“SMEs”) for medical opinions evaluating whether contaminated water at Camp Lejeune caused the Veteran’s illness. Since the SMEs started issuing opinions, the grant rate for Camp Lejeune claims has dropped from 25% to 8%.

Based on what little information is publicly available, Veterans and advocates have expressed concerns over the SME program. One newspaper reported that an SME copied and pasted a Wikipedia entry on liver cancer into his report, which VA subsequently relied on to deny disability benefits. Despite the plummeting grant rates and multiple requests for information, VA has disclosed few details about how the program operates.

In 2015, the Clinic, on behalf of The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten and Vietnam Veterans of America, submitted a request to VA under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) to gather information about the procedures, objectives, development, creation, and implementation of the Camp Lejeune SME Program. VA did not produce any documents in response to this request, in violation of federal law.

In April 2016, The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten and Vietnam Veterans of America, represented by the Clinic, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The suit seeks to compel VA to release the requested documents and provide much-needed transparency to its adjudication process for disability claims for Veterans poisoned by contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.

December 7, 2015 SME FOIA Request

April 27, 2016 FOIA Lawsuit Complaint

Selected Media Clips

1. Christina Corbin, Vets hit VA with federal lawsuit over Camp Lejeune water poisoning, Fox News, April 27, 2016.
2. Kat Sieniuc, Vet Groups Sue VA Seeking Water Contamination Benefit Docs, Law360, April 28, 2016.
3. Patricia Kime, Groups demand information on Camp Lejeune disability claims, Military Times, December 7, 2015.
4. Christina Corbin, Danger in the drink: Stricken Vets fight VA over Camp Lejeune water poisoning, Fox News, December 10, 2015.

Additional information on the water contamination at Camp Lejeune

1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Public Health Page on Camp Lejeune

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NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County man today admitted his role in a scheme to steal prescription HIV medication from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Wagner Checonolasco, aka “Wanny,” 34, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiring to steal government property.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From August 2017 through Nov. 20, 2019, Checonolasco conspired with Lisa M. Hoffman and others to steal HIV medication belonging to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Hoffman allegedly stole the medication from the pharmacy of her employer, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey, and then sold the stolen medication to Checonolasco for cash. Hoffman used her position as a procurement official at the VAMC to order large quantities of HIV prescription medications so that she could steal the excess medication and then sell it to Checonolasco, who then resold it for a profit. Checonolasco and Hoffman stole approximately $8.2 million worth of HIV medication belonging to the VAMC.

The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2021.

Hoffman, 48, of Orange, New Jersey, was previously charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy, theft of government property, and theft of medical products. Those charges remain pending, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was charged for his role in stealing prescription HIV medication from the pharmacy of the East Orange VA Medical Center, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Wagner Checonolasco, a/k/a “Wanny,” 33, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey was charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to steal government property, specifically HIV medication. Checonolasco had his initial appearance by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor and was released on $250,000 unsecured appearance bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From January 2018 through November 2019, Checonolasco conspired with another person to steal prescription HIV medication from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey. The conspirator, who was employed as a pharmacy procurement technician at the VAMC pharmacy, placed large orders for HIV medication, purportedly on behalf of VAMC. After the medication was delivered, the conspirator stole it. Checonolasco and the conspirator met, frequently at the conspirator’s residence, so that Checonolasco could purchase the stolen HIV medication, which he then sold. Checonolasco and the conspirator conspired to steal $7.85 million worth of HIV medications.    

The charge of conspiracy to steal government property is punishable by a potential penalty of five years in prison and fine of a $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the ongoing investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Bernie Sanders has led the charge for "Medicare for All" and has railed against the current health care system in the United States.

But a deeply personal moment on the campaign trail Friday spoke to how much the issue of affordable health care affects Americans.

Fresh from the Democratic debate, the Vermont senator began his two-day swing in Nevada with a town hall, where people opened up and got intensely personal about their issues with health care.

During the Friday event in Carson City, a Navy Veteran named John shared with Sanders that he is $139,000 in debt because his health insurance, Tricare, a program for the military, is no longer accepted.

Sanders listened intently as John, who said he served 20 years in the military, revealed that he has been diagnosed with stage four Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder.

When asked by Sanders how he is going to pay off his debt, John said, raising his voice, "I can't, I can't, I'm gonna kill myself."

The senator cut him off -- "Hold it. John, stop it. You're not gonna kill yourself. Stop it," Sanders said.

"I can't do this," John said with frustration in his voice. "I have Huntington's disease. Do you know how hard it is? You know, you probably don't, do you? I can't drive. I can barely take care of myself."

"Alright, let's chat later at the end of the meeting, okay?" Sanders said to John.

As promised, Sanders and his wife Jane spoke with John after the campaign event ended.

Sanders shared with CNN that in this conversation with the Veteran, he made sure his team got the correct contact information.

"What I wanted to make sure is that I got the correct information because what I did not want to happen is just him talking about his story but not being able to follow up with him," Sanders said.

"He told me he doesn't answer his phone very much because there are bill collectors calling him up every day," Sanders said of what he learned when speaking with the Veteran further.

Sanders also shared that his team has already gotten in touch with one of the Nevada senators about this Veteran's situation.

"We have already been in contact with one of the Nevada senators. We're going to get in touch with the entire Nevada Congressional delegation to get him the help that he needs," the Vermont senator said.

"We will follow up on Monday," Sanders later added.

"Here is somebody who put his life on the line to defend this country, a Veteran, dealing with a terrible, terrible illness, and what was obviously very unsettling is when he used the word suicide," Sanders told CNN when reflecting on his interaction. "That was the most dramatic and painful moment of the whole town meeting," he added.

"This should not be going on in America, not for a Veteran, not for any person in this country, and it is beyond comprehension that under the current healthcare system, somewhere like a half a million people go bankrupt every year because of medical bills," Sanders told CNN.

"Clearly we are not doing what we should be doing to make sure that every Veteran in this country gets all of the quality healthcare they need when they need it," he said.

If you or a Veteran you know needs help, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and press 1.

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VHA IE delivers remote audiology care to Veterans

VHA’s Innovation Ecosystem (VHA IE) is bringing better hearing options to Veterans virtually. The VA Audiology and Speech Pathology Program Office, led by Dr. Rachel McArdle, has worked with VHA IE to extend care beyond the walls of VA audiology clinics. Those options include remote hearing aid orientations and adjustment sessions using a variety of hearing aid tools.

ERTHI is Enterprise Remote Tuning of Hearing Instruments. The program uses a specialized applications that allows a Veteran to connect their hearing aids to their phone via Bluetooth. This enables virtual interaction with an audiologist to ensure the appropriate settings on their hearing aids. The audiologist can see how the hearing aid is functioning and help the Veteran adjust it despite not being there in person.

“The Veteran called the whole session magic,” Dr. Lori Howe, an audiologist at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC), said of an 84-year-old Veteran participant. This is just one of many testimonials about the new remote hearing care efforts underway at VA.

Common issue for Veterans

Hearing loss is a common issue for the Veteran community, with more than 1.2 million Veterans receiving hearing loss compensation. Loss of hearing can have major impacts on an individual’s emotional, cognitive, and even physical well-being. This also means that hearing aids need to be adjusted and corrected regularly.

Because of this need and recent events, VA has now pushed 10 years of research, studies, and work over the finish line, rapidly spreading ERTHI across the health care system in only five weeks.

Audiology apps

Audiology teams at Cheyenne VA Medical Center (VAMC), Capt. James A. Lovell FHCC, Miami VA Healthcare System, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, under the guidance of Dr. Chad Gladden, began testing and implementing the use of remote audiology care apps that multiple hearing aid vendors created. These apps had to function within VA’s IT infrastructure, be secure to ensure Veterans’ health care privacy, and be easy to use so that any Veteran could engage with them.

After extensive testing, Veterans across the enterprise began use of mobile audiology care apps in May, receiving remote hearing aid orientation and adjustments.

“Being able to hear has an incredible impact on how individuals interact with the world around them,” said Dr. McArdle. “This program enables us to help our patients get the most of their hearing aids in the safety of their own home.”

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Republicans are drafting legislation in an attempt to block the move

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed that his department is in talks to divert Veterans Affairs (VA) resources, doctors and nurses to help care for illegal immigrants Wednesday.

Mayorkas made the statement during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, pressed Mayorkas to answer whether the resources would be diverted as part of the DHS plan to address an expected spike in migration.

"We've heard that the administration is considering removing health care providers from the VA, for example, doctors and nurses whose taxpayer dollars and their intent is to help care for our Veterans," Hinson began. "So my question to you today is yes or no: Is the Department of Homeland Security planning to reallocate resources, doctors and nurses from our VA system intended to care for our Veterans to help care for illegal immigrants at our southern border?"

Mayorkas first attempted to skirt around the question.

"Let me be clear, because an interagency effort is precisely what the challenge of migration requires – and it's not specific to 2022, 2021, 2020 or any of the years preceding," he said, before Hinson cut him off.

"I'm just asking you a yes or no question," she pressed. "Are you planning on taking resources away from our Veterans to help deal with the surge at our southern border? That's a yes or no question."

"Congresswoman, the resources that the medical personnel from the Veterans Administration would allocate to this effort is under the judgment of the secretary of Veterans Affairs, who prioritizes the interests of Veterans above all others for very noble and correct," Mayorkas responded.

Hinson then pressed him once again on whether he was aware of any conversations he or others at the DHS have had about reallocating VA resources.

"I have not personally. But of course, our teams, our personnel have. And I'd be very pleased to follow up with you," he responded.

Republicans in the Senate have already taken action in an attempt to block the Biden administration from using any VA resources to address the border crisis.

A group of senators introduced a bill Tuesday that would "prohibit the use by the Department of Veterans Affairs of funds to provide emergency assistance at the southern border of the United States resulting from the repeal of certain public health orders, and for other purposes.

Republicans in the House took a similar action earlier in April.

The Biden administration has been preparing for a spike in migration that would come after it terminates Title 42, a Trump-era COVID-19 measure that allows for immediate deportation of most asylum seekers.

A federal judge in Louisiana blocked the administration from ending the policy on Tuesday, however. The judge said the policy must remain in place until the administration can negotiate a satisfactory plan with border states on how to deal with subsequent border surge.

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President Joe Biden on Tuesday continued his push for improved benefits for Veterans suffering the ill-effects of toxic exposure from burn pit smoke, calling it part of the country’s “sacred obligation” to care for individuals who served in the military.

In a speech before Veterans and Veterans Affairs staffers in Fort Worth, Texas, the commander-in-chief said for too long the serious health effects of military toxic exposure have been either partially addressed or ignored.

He acknowledged that research on the health effects of the waste pit smoke is still unsettled, but said that was no excuse for inaction.

“When the scientific evidence doesn’t give a clear answer one way or another, we should favor caring for our Veterans while we continue to learn more, not waiting,” he said.

“Our troops came home [from Iraq and Afghanistan] and the fittest among them, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, too many of them were not the same. Headaches, dizziness, numbness, cancer … We’re not waiting anymore.”

The comments came one week after Biden discussed the issue of military toxic exposure in his State of the Union address, devoting several minutes of the hour-long national address to Veterans care.

In that speech, Biden implored Congress to pass new legislation providing more medical care and support services for Veterans exposed to burn pit smoke.

Two days later, the House passed a comprehensive military toxic exposure bill (dubbed the PACT Act) over significant opposition from Republican lawmakers worried about the scope and cost of the measure.

In Texas, Biden called the measure and a smaller bill approved by the Senate in February “necessary care for Veterans and their families” and asked lawmakers to “get those bills on my desk so I can sign them immediately.”

But finding compromise on the legislation will likely take several more months of negotiation between House and Senate lawmakers.

In the meantime, VA officials are proposing new action to recognize several rare respiratory illnesses and cancers as presumed caused by burn pit exposure. That work is in addition to moves by the department last August, where officials for the first time established presumptive status for individuals exposed to burn pits who later contracted asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said about 12,500 Veterans have received care and benefits for those conditions since last summer.

“It’s our job to provide those Vets with benefits and care for those conditions,” he told the crowd before the president’s speech. “But for far too long, those Vets haven’t gotten what they deserve. President Biden has made it clear that those days are over.”

Before the event, Biden and McDonough toured the Fort Worth VA Clinic, meeting with staff and patients.

Biden — whose son, Beau, served in the Delaware Army Delaware Army National Guard and died of brain cancer in 2015 — said that he sympathizes with the families struggling with the after-effects of war, and said the government needs to do a better job anticipating their needs instead of reacting to serious injuries and illnesses too late.

“Every single, solitary Veteran deserves to be treated with dignity,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to ask for a damn thing. It should be ‘I’ve got a problem,’ and we should say, “How can we help?’”

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Biden says Kelly O'Donnell's question 'has nothing to do with Iraq'

President Biden called a reporter a "pain in the neck" Monday in the Oval Office for asking him a question that was off his preferred topic of Iraq.

Sitting in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Biden smiled as NBC's Kelly O'Donnell asked him to comment on Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough's announcement that front-line VA workers would be required to get a coronavirus vaccine.

"You are such a pain in the neck, but I’m going to answer your question because we’ve known each other for so long," he said. "It has nothing to do with Iraq … I'll answer your question. Yes, Veteran Affairs is going to, in fact, require that all doctors working in their facilities are going to have to be vaccinated."

O'Donnell said she took his comments as a "compliment" as Biden chuckled. Biden announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Monday.

Biden was genial with O'Donnell, but he has lashed out in the past at reporters over questions he finds unfair or unfounded. Last month, he snapped at CNN's Kaitlan Collins for a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling her she was in the "wrong business" at one point, and he also had sharp replies on the subject of his son Hunter Biden throughout 2020.

Biden has at times been criticized since he took office for being too scripted and expecting questions to be on his topic of choice. He's lately been more loose with his words, such as when he had to walk back remarks to reporters that Facebook was "killing people" because it allowed the publication of misleading information about coronavirus vaccines.

One White House reporter anonymously told journalist Julia Ioffe earlier this month that Democrats generally expect the media to take their side and are more "thin-skinned" than Republicans as a result.

"This is not unique to Trump but Republicans never expect a fair shake, so if you cover them fairly, you can have a good working relationship with them," the reporter said. "Democrats de facto expect you to be on their side and are horrified when you hold them to account as you would any other administration."

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President Joe Biden signed four Veterans reform bills into law on Tuesday, calling the changes part of the country’s “sacred obligation” to care for military members and their families even after their service.

“We prepare those we send into harm’s way, and care for their families when they’re gone, and care for them and their families when they’re home,” Biden said. “That’s a lifetime commitment the nation owes to every one of our Veterans.”

None of the measures were controversial, and all passed out of Congress by wide bipartisan margins. But the grouping of bills allowed Biden an opportunity to highlight Veterans one last time in November, just a few weeks after the nation celebrated the annual Veterans Day holiday.

The president was joined for the event by Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., committee ranking member Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., and a host of other lawmakers and Veterans advocates.

The short ceremony also gave Biden a chance to again publicly reflect on his own role as the father of a service member. Beau Biden, the president’s late son, served in Iraq with the Delaware National Guard.

“It is personal,” Biden told the crowd. “It’s a commitment [to care for Veterans] that we are helping to keep today because of the leadership of the women and men in this room.”

The first bill — the Protecting Moms Who Served Act — invests $15 million in new maternity care coordination programs at VA facilities. The move requires VA officials to address gaps in care for Veteran mothers as well as studies into prenatal and postpartum health.

It will also mandate that VA facilities begin offering childbirth preparation classes, parenting classes, nutrition counselling, breastfeeding support and similar services.

The Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act will require VA leaders to work with Defense Department officials in helping separating troops with health care skills who apply for open medical jobs in Veterans hospitals.

The Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act will guarantee that children and spouses of Veterans who die from service-connected injuries will get in-state tuition rates. The change is expected to affect about 150,000 surviving dependents, potentially saving them tens of thousands in higher education expenses each year.

The final measure will require the Government Accountability office to investigate potential disparities in VA benefit awards based on race and ethnicity. Past studies have indicated that minorities may receive lesser benefits or face additional obstacles to disability payouts than their white peers.

The Veteran-specific bill signing event may not be the final one for Biden this year. Lawmakers are expected to try and advance a series of Veterans measures in the final weeks of session next month.

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden saluted the nation's military Veterans as "the spine of America" as he marked his first Veterans Day as president in a wreath-laying ceremony Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery.

"There's nothing low risk or low cost about war for the women and men who fight it," said Biden, whose administration earlier in the day announced a federal effort to better understand, identify and treat medical conditions suffered by troops deployed to toxic environments.

That expanded effort centers on lung problems suffered by troops who breathe in toxins and the potential connection between rare cancers and time spent overseas breathing poor air, according to the White House. Federal officials plan to start by examining lung and breathing problems but say they will expand the effort as science identifies potential new connections.

Biden's son Beau served in Iraq, and the president has suggested a potential link between Beau's death from an aggressive brain cancer and his exposure to toxins in the air, particularly around massive pits where the military disposes of waste by burning. There's no scientific evidence to establish that link.

This year's Veterans Day commemoration comes just two months after Biden ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. It was a chaotic ending to America's longest war, which killed 2,461 American service members over the nearly 20-year conflict.

In his remarks at Arlington, Biden praised generations who have served, declaring they've "endured and survived challenges most Americans will never know."

He also paused to remember three high-profile Veterans who recently died: Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state; Gen. Ray Odierno, an Army chief of staff and top general in Iraq; and Sen. Max Cleland, a Georgia Democrat who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam.

"You are the very spine of America," Biden said of the nation's Veterans.

The new federal effort on toxic exposure is designed to make it easier for Veterans to make claims based on their symptoms, to collect more data from troops who are suffering and to give Veterans more time to make medical claims after symptoms such as asthma and sinus problems develop.

"We're discovering there is a whole host of lung conditions related to deployment," said Dr. Richard Meehan, an immunologist and rheumatologist.

Meehan, a retired U.S. Naval Reserve officer who served in the Mideast during the 1990s and again in 2008, is co-director of the Denver-based National Jewish Health Center of Excellence on Deployment-Related Lung Disease.

Beau Biden's death was a defining moment for Joe Biden, one he said affected his decision to sit out the 2016 presidential race. The younger Biden deployed from October 2008 until September 2009 as a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard. In 2013, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma and died two years later at age 46.

"Today we pay homage to the unrelenting bravery and dedication that distinguish all those who earned the title American Veteran," Biden said. "To be a Veteran is to endure, to survive challenges that most Americans will never know."

Meehan, who along with his colleagues is investigating the role of inhalation exposures among military personnel who were deployed to Southwest Asia, said it isn't only burn pits that are the issue -- the air quality in some countries is so poor that troops would not be allowed to work there under civilian federal workplace guidelines. The center receives funding from the Department of Defense, along with private donors.

Meehan has worried that troops who came back with breathing problems are being compared with other Americans to determine whether there is a higher rate of lung illness. But those deployed with the U.S. military are in peak physical condition, stronger and more fit than average Americans. To come back unable to make it up stairs without getting winded or unable to lift anything without breathing heavily is highly unusual.

"When you compare them to another group, you have to compare them to another healthy, fit group," Meehan said. "That's one of the problems overlooked in surveys that have shown no higher incidence of cancer."

The new rules will allow Veterans to make claims within 10 years of service, and the government has changed how it determines what symptoms count and why.

The U.S. military has been aware for years of health risks associated with open-air burn pits. In 2013, federal investigators found a military camp in Afghanistan was operating a pit for more than five years, nearly four times longer than Pentagon rules allowed. The Defense Department has said burn pits should be used only as a temporary last resort when no other alternative trash disposal method is feasible.

Also in marking Veterans Day, a group of Democratic U.S. House members revived an effort to pay the families of Black World War II service members for benefits they were denied or prevented from taking full advantage of when they returned home.

A similar Senate bill is to be introduced later this month.

Being a Veteran is a "badge of courage that unites across all ages, regardless of background," Biden said after the wreath-laying ceremony.

"Each of our Veterans is a link in a proud chain of patriots that has stood to the defense of our country from Bunker Hill to Belleau Wood, Gettysburg and Iwo Jima," he said, as he stood before a huge American flag in the amphitheater.

Information for this article was contributed by Colleen Long and Alexandra Jaffe of The Associated Press and by Michael E. Ruane and Fredrick Kunkle of The Washington Post.

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Vast open-air pits where trash burned around the clock were simply part of life on deployment for troops in America’s post-9/11 wars. Now, thousands are sick and dying because of the toxic exposure and feel abandoned by the country that they fought for.

While stationed in Baghdad, soldiers nicknamed it “the Iraqi crud”.

For many, over-the-counter medication helped ease their breathing difficulties while on tour before they recovered on their return to the US.

But for Lauren Price, the crud never went away.

Within a few short months of returning from her 13-month deployment to Iraq in 2008, she could no longer manage the three-mile jogs she used to run every day.

In 2011, she was diagnosed with terminal constrictive bronchiolitis – a rare form of lung cancer caused by breathing in toxins – and she was medically retired from the Navy two years later.

Within a few short years she couldn’t even walk to her mailbox without losing her breath and needing to take a break.

Her lung capacity fell to around 30 per cent, functioning at less than a third of that of a typically healthy person.

On 30 March 2021, Lauren passed away from complications related to cancer. She was 56.

“It was really hard to see her deterioration but it was so much harder for her as she had always been so independent,” Lauren’s husband Jim Price tells The Independent.

“She was a single mother for many years and so it was difficult for her to acknowledge that she needed help or couldn’t do as much as she used to.”

Long before her death, Lauren knew that her health issues were directly related to her service for her country, after facing prolonged exposure to burn pits during her tour of Iraq.

She had testified before Congress how she was particularly exposed to the toxic fumes as she became a lead convoy driver and drove trucks laden with vehicle parts to and from the pits.

Leave nothing behind

During America’s post-September 11 wars, huge open-air burn pits were used to dispose of the mountains of trash on US military bases.

Everything from food packaging to human waste to military equipment, chemicals, paints, petrol, plastics and tyres were dumped into the huge pits and set alight with jet fuel.

Many of the pits covered acres of land and burned all year round without going out, all within close proximity to where US troops were sleeping, eating and working.

One of the biggest pits spanned 10 acres, burning around the clock at Balad Air Base, just north of Baghdad.

It’s a waste disposal practice that was banned on US soil back in the 1970s because of the health risks from the release of toxic fumes but which, five decades later, is still practiced by the US army on deployment to foreign countries, leaving American servicemen and women exposed to these toxins every single day.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, it was simply common practice as troops were required to leave nothing behind.

“Everything had to be burned everywhere we went – we couldn’t just leave trash behind and it was also a security risk,” explains Tom Porter, executive vice president of government affairs at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and a Navy Veteran of Afghanistan.

Mr Porter tells The Independent that there are other pollutants on the bases, but people typically refer to everything altogether as burn pits.

“Wherever Nato forces were in Afghanistan, facilities were powered with diesel generators that would be three metres tall and wide and they were just pumping out black smoke that you breathed in all of the time,” he says.

“And probably even worse than that was the portable toilets on the bases as there was no sewage works so you would take out the waste and pour jet fuel on it. That happened every day where Nato forces were.”

On one large base in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan a vast lake of raw sewage earned the nickname the “Poo Pond”, as the waste from portable toilets used by 30,000-plus troops was dumped into one gigantic cesspit.

Low on the radar

Mr Price, who was on tour in Iraq with his future wife, says that the burn pits were just part and parcel of their life on deployment.

“Everybody saw them and noticed them, it was kind of just a fact of life,” he says.

“We were in third-world country locations and you have to dispose of waste so it was just something that needed to be done.

“At the peak of the surge there were 250,000 military members and civilian contractors there so if you just think about everyday waste from each of these people drinking four or five one litre plastic bottles of water a day and getting three meals in Styrofoam containers - that’s not even accounting for things like the tyres that go bad and the equipment that breaks and so on.

“So it was something everyone recognised that there was really no other option for at the time.”

When you’re just trying to make it to the end of the day without being killed in warfare, the long-term impacts of breathing in these toxins doesn’t really register high up on anyone’s concerns, he says.

“Your concerns throughout the day are: one, not getting blown up; two, not getting shot; and three, can we get enough food and water,” he says.

“So it’s a different kind of mindset where it was so low on the radar.”

Even with today’s hindsight about the dangers of the burn pits, Mr Price says he doubts it would have made any difference to Lauren’s decision to serve her country.

Lauren had always wanted to join the Navy.

But these plans were put on hold when she became a military wife and had three sons.

Then, inspired to act following the September 11 terrorist attacks and with her children all grown up, the time was finally right in 2006.

It was during civil affairs training at Fort Bragg that she and Mr Price, who had served in the Navy since 1989, first met.

They were both deployed to Iraq at the same time and worked together in the legal team. They stayed in contact when they returned and “one thing led to another” and they married in 2011, says Mr Price.

Navigating the VA

Following his retirement and her medical discharge, they spent the last decade of Lauren’s life advocating for other Veterans returning from war with life-changing conditions through their nonprofit Veteran Warriors.

They founded the organisation together when, with Lauren’s health worsening, they learned firsthand the “anxiety and stress” of trying to navigate the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) – the government agency whose purpose is to provide healthcare services and disability claims to military Veterans – particularly for those with health conditions related to burn pits.

(The Department of Defense (DOD) meanwhile provides healthcare and determines the disability status of service members before they leave active duty.)

For Lauren, it was a three- to four-year process – which involved reaching out to her local lawmaker – before she was even given a disability rating by the VA.

Her husband says that the whole process to access healthcare through the VA was “more anxiety-causing and stressful” as the agency effectively refused her treatment by telling her they wouldn’t treat her constrictive bronchiolitis until her PTSD – an incurable illness – was “cured”.

In the end, she gave up and went down the civilian medical insurance route instead.

That option, says Mr Price, is something many Veterans aren’t fortunate enough to have.

“Their only real choice is the VA and it can be a nightmare,” he says.

“People would assume it is a seamless transition from the military to the VA but it’s not.”

Burden of proof

Lauren is just one of thousands of US Veterans who have developed health conditions including rare cancers, lung conditions, respiratory illnesses and toxic brain injuries after being exposed to burn pits on deployment overseas.

Almost 261,000 Veterans have signed up to the VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry since its launch in 2014, registering that they are suffering from health conditions they believe to be caused by exposure to burn pits.

But the true number of those impacted is likely even greater, with the VA estimating that 3.5m servicemembers and Veterans have been exposed to burn pits and airborne toxins.

And yet, the VA is turning down almost 80 per cent of claims for healthcare and disability related to toxic exposure.

In September 2020, a senior VA official testified before Congress that just 22 percent of disability claims mentioning burn pits had been approved between 2007 and 2020 - leaving Veterans without healthcare or financial support for conditions believed to be directly caused by their service to their country.

One of the biggest hurdles for Veterans is that the burden of proof is currently on them to prove a direct link between their exposure to burn pits and their illness.

Which is something that – even after introducing the burn pit registry in 2014 - the VA has long insisted there is not enough evidence to prove.

Research that did appear to prove a link came to an abrupt end.

In 2004, Dr Robert Miller from Vanderbilt University began one of the first studies into the links between burn pits and illnesses when several seemingly fit soldiers were sent to him from Fort Campbell after failing fitness tests and presenting unexplained respiratory issues on their return from Iraq.

After performing lung biopsies, he found that dozens were suffering from constrictive bronchiolitis which didn’t show up on regular exams such as X-rays and pulmonary function tests. The military then stopped sending soldiers to see him.

Then, in 2012, former VA epidemiologist Steven Coughlin testified before Congress that VA officials were manipulating or hiding data that supported Veterans’ claims of illnesses related to burn pits.

Even now in 2022, a statement on the VA website still reads: “At this time, research does not show evidence of long-term health problems from exposure to burn pits.”

“If you’re in the military and you get shot then there’s a bullet and a wound - it’s pretty cut and dry that the injury was caused by your service,” says Mr Price.

“But if you’re exposed to toxic chemicals and then you come home and have a severe illness the direct connection is not as easy to prove.

“It’s pretty obvious – but there is no definitive way to say 1,000 per cent that the condition Lauren had in her lungs was caused by her exposure to the burn pits in Iraq.”

Also complicating this burden of proof is that the illnesses caused by toxic exposure can develop many years after the deployment.

Abandoned by the country that sent them to war

As a result, many Veterans describe coming home from war and being abandoned by the same government that sent them there.

Le Roy Torres had transitioned from active duty to an Army reserve and was working as a Texas state trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS) when he was deployed to Iraq in 2007.

He began suffering respiratory issues while on deployment and was hospitalised within a matter of weeks of returning home to the US at the end of his tour.

He was medically discharged from the Army but doctors were at a loss as to what was wrong with him.

“He sounded like he was coughing up a lung,” Rosie Torres, Le Roy’s wife and cofounder of Burn Pits 360, tells The Independent.

They were making countless trips to the hospital and, at one point, he collapsed at home in front of their three children.

“We would come back from the hospital and turn to the VA and they’d say ‘sorry, there’s nothing we can do’,” says Ms Torres.

He was finally diagnosed after Ms Torres began “googling soldiers coming back from Iraq and dying” and found a whole online community of widows, widowers or families whose loved ones had returned from war and were sick or dying from burn pits exposure.

After more research, they tracked down Dr Miller who diagnosed Le Roy with constrictive bronchiolitis.

For a long time, the VA denied Le Roy’s claims for service-connected illness due to burn pits exposure because constrictive bronchiolitis is not a presumptive condition.

Even now, he only gets 30 per cent of available benefits for a service-connected illness.

When asked why, Ms Torres simply says: “Because it’s the VA.”

Ms Torres actually worked for the VA at the time that her husband came back from the war ill.

She experienced life as an employee inside the VA by day and would then go home and experience life as a Veteran’s wife fighting the VA to get the support her sick husband was owed.

She says that no one inside the agency was even talking about the issue of burn pits during her 23 years of working there.

“It was non-existent in the VA, no one spoke about it at all. There were no documents on it, no training on it, nothing at all,” she says.

“Working for the VA I saw the bureaucracy and red tape and systemic barriers that are in place and began to realise ‘wow this is really happening to people and no one really cares’.”

She adds: “The VA has a horrible misconception that these people are malingerers, that they’re defrauding the government.

“It’s like if only they knew what we would give to have our old lives back!”

To make matters worse, Le Roy wanted to return to work for the TDPS but asked to be reassigned to a different role due to his condition.

The TDPS refused and he was forced to resign, says Ms Torres.

Le Roy sued for discrimination under a law which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees over military service but lost in state court.

In December, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Le Roy’s case this spring.

With Le Roy losing his job and the VA not paying up at the time, Ms Torres says their family was forced to use up all of their life savings just to keep a roof over their heads.

She also had to take early retirement.

“In order for us not to get the house foreclosed I had to take early retirement and withdraw all our money from our savings,” she says.

“My family was like ‘why are you doing this? You shouldn’t do that’ and I was like ‘if I don’t we’ll lose our house’. We didn’t have a choice. We didn’t have a plan b and c.

“This is war and it’s a war that has followed us home.”

Le Roy had served his country for a total of 23 years.

‘A war that followed us home’

The couple turned their online community into Burn Pits 360, a grassroots organisation that lobbies the US government for change and advocates for Veterans exposed to burn pits.

The nonprofit established an independent burn pits registry back in 2010 – four years before the VA set up its own.

“There has been no accountability all the way across it so we all just have to pick up the scraps of money left after wiping our life savings, drag our butts to Washington and create a website to try to get the government to do its job,” says Ms Torres.

As Mr Porter explains, members of the military accept their service comes with a risk to their lives.

What they do not accept is that, when their health suffers or a loved one dies, the government that sent them to war abandons them on their return.

“People understand that they are coming into contact with dangerous things in war but you presume the government will take care of you when you come back,” he says.

“If we get to the point where we have such widespread health impacts from pollutants but the government says ‘well the science doesn’t really prove that your pancreatic cancer was caused by a burn pit’ then people will think twice about joining the military and that will be a problem.

“We need to make sure service members know that when they join service, yes it is a dangerous job but we’re going to take care of you if something happens to you.”

It’s an issue that many hoped President Joe Biden would make a priority after entering the White House – especially in light of his personal ties to the issue.

Beau Biden

The president has said publicly that he believes the cancer that killed his son Beau was linked to his exposure to burn pits.

Beau Biden was a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2008, spending much of the next year breathing in the 10-acre burn pit at Balad Air Force Base.

Two years later, he began suffering severe health conditions. First, he suffered a stroke in 2010 before he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2013.

He died in 2015 at the age of 46.

In a 2018 interview, Mr Biden said he had been “stunned” to learn that there was a whole chapter about his son in Joseph Hickman’s book The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America’s Soldiers and said that it had opened his eyes to the potential link between Beau’s service and his premature death.

By 2019, during a speech to the Service Employees International Union, Mr Biden appeared to have made up his mind that Beau’s death was indeed linked to the burn pits he was exposed to in Iraq.

“He spent a year in Iraq and came back decorated, conspicuous service medal honor, bronze star in war zone, etcetera,” he said.

“And because of exposure to burn pits, in my view, I can’t prove it yet, he came back with stage 4 glioblastoma.”

He added: “Eighteen months he lived, knowing he was going to die.”

President Biden’s personal ties present a major opportunity for the issue to finally be taken seriously in Washington, believes Mr Porter.

“He has a personal connection because he believes his son may have died from burn pits exposure,” he says.

“And the president’s personal priorities become the priorities of the administration which become the priorities of the VA so it’s important that he is behind the issue.”

A ‘seismic shift’ in administrations

Since he took office, the Biden administration has taken a number of steps to make it easier for Veterans exposed to burn pits to access federal benefits and healthcare.

For the very first time, some health conditions are now presumed to have been caused by exposure to burn pits.

Three conditions – asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis – were first listed in August as presumptively linked to toxic exposure.

This means that the VA now presumes that Veterans diagnosed with one of these conditions within 10 years of returning from deployment to certain countries are suffering these illnesses because of toxic exposure during their service.

These Veterans are therefore eligible for disability benefits.

On Veterans Day in November, the president also announced the launch of a probe to investigate whether some rare respiratory cancers, lung cancers and constrictive bronchiolitis - the condition Lauren and Le Roy were diagnosed with - are also tied to burn pits.

He gave the VA 90 days to provide recommendations about adding these as presumptive illnesses.

Glioblastoma – the rare brain cancer Beau died from – was not on the list.

In Mr Biden’s speech, he vowed that “anybody who was anywhere near those burn pits, that’s all they have to show and they get covered, they get all their health care covered”.

In late December, Mr Biden then signed two bills into law as part of the $768 billion National Defense Authorization Act for 2022 , expanding the burn pit registry and enhancing medical training for healthcare providers on the effects of toxic exposure.

The pair of bills was put forward by Rep Raul Ruiz, a former doctor and founder of the Congressional Burn Pits Caucus who has pushed for years for Congress to act over the military’s use of burn pits.

Rep Ruiz tells The Independent that he has seen a “seismic shift” in attitudes towards the issue from both the VA and the White House since Mr Biden took office.

“Before the Biden-Harris administration, every time we would hold a hearing with the VA and others in the previous administration, there were always excuses,” he says.

“They would say that ‘there’s no evidence to show the link between burn pits and other cancers and illnesses’ and that would infuriate me as they knew quite well that there was enough evidence through case studies, through dirt sampling, through lung biopsies as well as through parallel studies done in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

“This is a serious issue as these Veterans have survived the battlefield only to come home and be casualties of war.”

The congressman says that “for the first time ever” an administration now recognises the link between the burn pits and the conditions Veterans are suffering from, shifting the conversation from complete denial of any link to what must be done about it.

“For the first time ever an administration is now recognising that there is a relationship between inhaling carcinogens and cancers and respiratory illnesses,” he says.

“Now the debate is not if burn pits harmed service members, it is which illnesses they caused and so which should be presumptive.

“So there has been a seismic shift in the way the VA and the administration are dealing with burn pits.

“For the VA to now recognise that asthma is a presumptive illness caused by exposure to burn pits is unheard of.”

‘Political breadcrumbs’

Mr Biden’s speech on Veterans Day did send a “definite signal to his administration that this is a priority”, agrees Mr Porter.

He also believes that VA Secretary Denis McDonough - who was sworn in in February 2021 - understands it’s an issue that the agency needs to tackle.

But, while things appear to be “moving in the right direction”, for Veterans who have been fighting this for years, things aren’t moving quickly enough.

“These aren’t just some random illnesses that no one sees. Friends, family, people we know personally are dying,” says Mr Porter.

“This is something that Veterans are living and breathing and dying from so it is offensive to us when this process is drawn out for years because many people don’t have years.”

John Feal tells The Independent that the steps taken so far by the Biden administration are nothing more than “political breadcrumbs”.

Mr Feal is a 9/11 survivor who advocated for first responders to get access to healthcare for illnesses and injuries sustained at Ground Zero.

Much like the Veterans exposed to burn pits overseas, 9/11 rescue workers are still developing cancers and respiratory illnesses years on from the terrorist attacks, after breathing in the toxins from the burning jet fuel while spending months and months combing through the rubble in New York.

Mr Feal successfully pushed Congress to pass a bill to ensure the government provides permanent compensation to these rescue workers.

More recently, he has become an advocate for Veterans suffering from illnesses caused by toxic exposure to burn pits alongside TV host Jon Stewart.

He says the addition of three respiratory illnesses to the presumptive list of conditions connected to burn pits is nothing more than “a smoke and mirrors show” while a whole range of other cancers and illnesses are not yet even on the table.

“That’s just political breadcrumbs, a smoke and mirrors show,” he says.

“It’s just throwing a couple of things out there so that on the surface it looks like they’re doing the right thing.

“And they don’t need 90 days any more [to present a link to certain cancers]... that was weak and poor leadership from the president,” he adds of the Veterans Day announcement.

A VA spokesperson tells The Independent that making the three respiratory conditions presumptive is just “a first step of more to come as we tackle the difficult topic of environmental exposure” and that addressing the health effects associated with toxic exposure is “a major priority” to the president and his administration.

“The president believes we have one truly, sacred obligation – to properly train and equip our troops when we send them into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home,” he says.

He adds: “The Bidens are a military family, they know first-hand the sacrifices that our military families, caregivers, and survivors have made in serving our nation.”

Secretary McDonough has also vowed to “fight like hell on the issue”, he says, adding that the VA does however “understand” the frustrations among the Veteran community.

“We understand the frustration some Veterans are experiencing while we are working, but we are working hard to find the answers for Veterans that are scientifically sound and legally defensible,” says the spokesperson.

A war on burn pits

Mr Feal says he believes Mr Biden does indeed care about the issue but his personal connection to burn pits could be “holding him back”.

“We’re disappointed by the lack of action from the White House,” he says.

“I know him and he’s a good man but I think Biden just doesn’t want to make his son’s death political and so - while I’m confident he will sign any bill on this into law - I think he is holding back.”

What the president should actually be doing is declaring a “war on burn pits”, he says.

“We just ended a 20-year war. Now, all he has to do is start a new war on ensuring these people get the healthcare they deserve,” he says.

“We need to start a war on burn pits and make sure this situation doesn’t happen again.”

Of course, the US has already been in this situation before.

Troops returning home from the Vietnam War began experiencing illnesses caused by toxic exposure to Agent Orange - a herbicide used by the US military to clear the heavy jungle.

For years, these Veterans fought for their conditions to be recognised as connected to their service before the Agent Orange Act was finally passed in 1991 – 16 years after the war ended.

Now, advocates are urging Congress to pass legislation that will presumptively link several conditions and illnesses to toxic exposure, taking the burden of proof away from Veterans.

Two similar bills were introduced in 2021 – The Comprehensive and Overdue Support for Troops of War Act or COST of War Act in the Senate and the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act or PACT Act in the House.

It’s anticipated that the House bill will be easier to pass due to the Democrat majority.

Mr Feal and Mr Stewart have met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi several times, urging her to take the PACT Act to the House floor.

Following the latest meeting this January, Speaker Pelosi gave a press conference where she said “we have to have legislation passed” to support Veterans affected by burn pits.

“It will be expensive but it is the price we must pay,” she said. “And from our standpoint, if you were there - you qualify.”

The PACT Act is sweeping legislation that includes several different bills to make it easier for Veterans suffering illnesses related to toxic exposure to access VA disability benefits.

The biggest change would see 23 conditions being presumptively linked to toxic exposure, removing the burden for Veterans to prove a direct link to service.

If it passes into law, it would grant eligibility to VA healthcare for thousands of Veterans now suffering from cancers, respiratory issues and other illnesses after breathing in the toxic fumes from burn pits.

While resigned to the fact that it’s likely some parts of the bill will be dropped along the way, Mr Feal lists some non-negotiables: that it’s presumptive, that it’s “as big as possible”, and that the list of illnesses and countries stay put.

“We want a presumptive bill that is going to encompass all those affected by toxic exposure from burn pits,” he says.

“Veterans coming home from war sick from burn pits shouldn’t have to be their own advocate, lawyer and doctor.

“Everybody in America is guilty of saying ‘thank you for your service’ to our Veterans but that’s all we do.

“We then stop short. It should be ‘thank you for your service and what can we do to help?’

He adds: “The true cost of war is taking care of men and women when they come home.”

True cost of war

It’s a cost that many on Capitol Hill don’t want to pay for, says Mr Porter.

However, service-related illnesses are part of the cost of war – a cost that Veterans are already paying for with their health and shouldn’t have to pay for financially, he says.

“Some people in Congress say they don’t know how we can pay for this but this is part of the war that the same people decided to send us to.

“This entire problem is part of going to war, it’s part of the cost of war,” he says.

“We’re here to say that Congress is the one that sent us to war over the last 20 years so if they didn’t want to pay for the Veterans injured from the war then they shouldn’t have sent us there in the first place.”

Mr Porter likens it to eating a meal in a restaurant and then refusing to pay.

“You go out for a nice dinner and eat it all then say ‘I hated my food, I don’t want to pay for it’,” he says.

“This is what I say to Congress: this is a meal you have already eaten and so you’ve got to pay for it.

“It’s the cost of the war you’ve already bought, you just need to take your money from your pocket and pay the bill.”

Mr Porter says that there is also a common misunderstanding among lawmakers now waking up to the issue: that Veterans want to end the practice of burn pits altogether.

While that would of course be an ideal outcome, he explains that soldiers and Veterans accept that burn pits are sometimes the only option in war.

“The discussion on Capitol Hill by people who don’t understand the issue is that we need to ban burn pits,” he says.

“We’re not looking to do that as we are going to go to war again so we are going to need to burn things again.

“Yes we want safer ways to burn things but it’s not practical to set up a recycling plant down the road from a base. We get that.”

Perhaps one of the clearest signs of an unwillingness from some lawmakers to listen to the Veteran community and take the issue seriously came during a recent House Veterans’ Affairs Committee virtual roundtable in January.

While Veterans, Veteran services organisations and advocates - including Ms Torres, Mr Feal, Mr Stewart and Rep. Ruiz - discussed how burn pits exposure is killing Veterans and the importance of passing the PACT Act, Rep. Madison Cawthorn was caught on camera spending several minutes busying himself by cleaning his gun.

Ms Torres branded his behaviour “very disrespectful” and an “insult” to all US Veterans who are sick and dying after serving their country.

“He does not belong on the committee. He clearly has no concept of how many of his constituents are sick and dying from the toxic wounds of war as if he did he wouldn’t be cleaning his gun right then,” she says.

“It was an insult to the American warriors, to the survivors and to the widows of soldiers who have died.”

Supporting Veterans isn’t a partisan issue, says Mr Feal, warning that he isn’t afraid of (figuratively) “beating up” anyone who gets in the way of passing legislation.

“I don’t care if they’re Republican or Democrat I will punch them in the mouth - figuratively not literally - if they get in the way,” he says.

“I have zero tolerance for people who have power and don’t use it right.

“And no one wants to be that guy that says no to supporting Veterans.”

Mr Feal is confident that the bill will pass in 2022.

But, after spending more than a decade trying to get the US government to provide her Veteran husband with the healthcare he needs, Ms Torres is less optimistic.

“We’re hearing that the Senate is not in line with it being presumptive,” she says.

“There’s talk about why don’t we expand healthcare and then make presumptions later? But why would we do it later?”

She worries that there is still a disconnect with Congress, the VA and the DOD “not talking to each other” all the while “no one is paying attention to Veterans and active duty servicemembers”.

Meanwhile, Le Roy’s health continues to decline.

“He has all kinds of medical issues and every year there’s more and more doctors, more and more symptoms and more and more visits,” she says.

“He’s dealt with a lot, the poor thing - the suffering is non-stop.

“What can you say after he’s had 10 years of suffering and pain? He doesn’t fit the description now of who he was back then.”

For Mr Price, it’s almost one year since he lost his wife because of the burn pits she was exposed to in Baghdad.

He says he is trying to carry on Lauren’s work supporting other Veterans in her memory but finds it difficult at times “as it was such a big part of Lauren’s Life and our life together”.

As well as adjusting to life without Lauren, Mr Price has also been left wondering about the impact the burn pits could have had on his own health.

“I was always within 100 yards of Lauren so what she was breathing in I was probably breathing in too,” he says.

“Lauren’s younger son and I have talked about this on several occasions as he was also serving in Iraq for a year right after we were.

“We’re always wondering: is tomorrow going to be the day that the burn pits catch up with us too?”

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President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., authored to recruit medically-trained Veterans to pursue careers in the Department of Veterans Affairs and similar agencies upon their retirement.

The Hire Veterans Health Heroes Act of 2021 requires the VA to set up a program to reach out to all military-trained Veterans within a year of retirement about a health care occupational career in the federal government. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., co-sponsored the bill with Hassan.

“We promise our Veterans that we will be there for them, and today, here at the White House, we took a small step forward in helping keep that promise,” Hassan said in a statement.

“I was proud to work with Sen. Braun on this important legislation because we must always ensure that Veterans have the support and resources that they need to succeed, and a critical way to do that is by expanding employment opportunities for our nation’s heroes and strengthening their health care.”

Biden signed Tuesday another bill Hassan had co-sponsored to expand in-state tuition eligibility for the families of Veterans who die from service-connected disabilities.

Under the new law, survivors may also qualify for the tuition benefit if a Veteran is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability.

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The bills will reform the military's use of burn pits and expand a registry of service members exposed to them

President Biden signed two bills into law Monday that could help tens of thousands of Veterans who claim they became ill from exposure to burn pits.

The pair of bills, included in the $768 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2022, will bring sweeping reform to the military’s use of burn pits, expand a registry of service members exposed to the crude trash incineration method while serving overseas and enhance medical training for health care providers.

"My bills, the DOD Burn Pits Health Provider Training Act and the Burn Pit Registry Expansion Act, becoming law is a great step forward in our fight to get our Veterans affected by toxic burn pit exposure the care they deserve," Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., a doctor who authored the two bills, told Fox News.

"These much-needed bills will help address the urgent public health crisis facing our Veterans by expanding the Burn Pit Registry to a whole new group of Veterans and helping physicians quickly identify at-risk service members.

"As these new laws take effect, I will continue fighting for our nation's burn pit-exposed Veterans and service members to get them the timely care they need and end the use of burn pits once and for all."

The two bills signed into law include the Department of Defense (DoD) Burn Pits Health Provider Training Act (H.R. 4397), which will require the DoD to implement mandatory training for all medical providers working for the department on the potential health effects of burn pits. The Burn Pit Registry Expansion Act (H. R. 4400) will require the DoD and the Veterans Administration to expand their registry to include military members who were stationed in Egypt and Syria.

Both bills are expected to take effect immediately with the provider training act helping to train doctors to catch early signs of toxic exposure in an effort to provide more timely care. Many Veterans who were exposed to burn pits say that their doctors often struggled to pinpoint how young, otherwise healthy, service members with no family history of cancer were becoming ill.

"A decade ago, we went to VA health care facilities, and they just kind of shrugged their shoulders," Rosie López-Torres, founder of advocacy group Burn Pits 360, told Fox News. The two bills resulted in part from her organization's lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill the last decade.

López-Torres adds that more needs to be done to ensure that all service members are receiving the help they need.

"We are proud to see these bills become laws," she said, "But they need to expand the list of locations. We have a lot of service members saying that they are still working near active burn pits and questioning why they can’t be on the registry."

Biden has said publicly that he believes his son Beau’s terminal cancer resulted from exposure to burn pits while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq. This past Veterans Day, the Biden administration released a statement announcing actions to develop and test a model for establishing a connection to illnesses developed after exposure to toxins released into the air as plumes of smoke rose from the burn pits. The initiative aims to provide Veterans who were exposed to burn pits with long-denied benefits.

"We’re going to work with Congress — Republicans and Democrats together — to make sure our Veterans receive the world-class benefits that they’ve earned, and meet the sacred — the specific care — specific needs that they each individually need," President Biden said during public remarks at Arlington Cemetery on Veterans Day. "That means expanding presumptive conditions for toxic exposure and particulate matter, including Agent Orange and burn pits.

"We’re going to keep pushing on this front to be more nimble and responsive," he added. "We’re reviewing all the data and evidence to determine additional presumptive conditions that make sure our Veterans don’t have to wait to get the care they need."

López-Torres says she would like to see Biden do more to include the full 23 presumptive conditions associated with burn pit exposure.

"They are spoon-feeding us a little at a time, and that’s not OK," she said. "We don’t have time to wait. People are dying."

The Investigative Unit at Fox News has reported extensively on the fears that Veterans have become sick from exposure to fumes from burn pits. Many soldiers said the pits were a crude method of incineration in which every piece of waste was burned, including plastics, batteries, appliances, medicine, dead animals and even human waste.

The items were often set ablaze with jet fuel as the accelerant. The pits burned more than 1,000 different chemical compounds day and night. Most service members breathed in toxic fumes with no protection. According to a registry created by the VA, over 200,000 Vets said the exposure made them ill, but the department denied assistance to many of them.

Many Veterans and their families have said that their experience trying get help with health care coverage left them feeling that the federal government viewed them with doubt and suspicion.

The new laws are the latest advances in a push for burn pit exposure to become a presumptive condition by the VA when addressing disabilities.

The Presumptive Benefits bill was originally introduced in September of last year but was reintroduced in March with updated criteria for presumptive care.

To simplify eligibility, the bill favors Veterans having relevant service medals received after their tour of duty instead of documentation that they served a minimum number of days, a crucial step, proponents of the bill say. Listing their service as a presumptive condition will help to provide needed care to millions of Veterans.

"These are men and women who have sacrificed everything for our country, and now they're sacrificing their lives because of diseases that are caused by their exposure that they had no say about being stationed next to a burn pit," Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a co-sponsor of the bill, told Fox News in April. "We know burn pits are deadly. That's why they're banned in the United States."

"The epidemiology already exists for most of these diseases because we know the nature of what's burned in the burn pit is identical to the stuff that was burned on 9/11 and the weeks and months on the pile thereafter. And there's a ton of work done to show causation with all the research done over the last 15 years."

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Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., announced Wednesday that his Veterans Camera Reporting Act bill, HR 1510, was signed into law on Tuesday.

The bill, he said, is aimed at improving the quality of care provided at VA health care facilities, by ensuring the required video camera systems are in working order and requiring VA medical centers to report to Congress regarding these patient safety measures.

“We’ve seen tragedy firsthand at the Clarksburg VA and we can never let preventable events of that nature happen again in West Virginia or any other state in this country. Period, ” McKinley said. The bill was spurred by the murders of Veterans at the Clarksburg VA hospital.

“Our Veterans have made countless sacrifices to defend our freedoms and they deserve the best quality of care from our VA system, ” McKinley said. “This bill will help restore transparency and confidence in the care provided at our VA hospitals.”

The Senate companion bill was introduced by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

Both commented when the bill passed the Senate on Nov. 3.

Capito said, “Those who served our nation deserve safe, high-quality care, and that’s why I’ve remained in close contact with those involved in this investigation and VA leadership to ensure we get answers. As a result of one of those conversations, I determined one of those potential answers came in the form of legislation I authored to examine the use of security cameras at VA medical centers, which provide transparency and accountability. I’m glad the Senate passed this important bill that will help us avoid tragedies like this in the future.”

Manchin said, “Over the past several years, West Virginia Veterans have lost faith in the VA system due to the murders of at least seven Veterans at the Clarksburg VAMC and the negligence that allowed this heartbreaking tragedy to occur. I am pleased the Senate passed our bipartisan legislation. … This is a good first step in restoring our Veterans’ confidence in the VA medical centers, but we have a long way to go.”

In November 2020, then-President Trump signed the related H.R. 5616, the Improving Safety and Security for Veterans Act. McKinley was a lead cosponsor. The bill requires the VA to submit detailed reports on patient safety and quality of care at VA Medical Centers.

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NEW CASTLE, Del. — President Joe Biden urged military Veterans on Friday to take advantage of new healthcare opportunities under legislation that he signed in August. He promoted the aid as he visited a Delaware National Guard facility named for his late son, Beau.

“It’s one of the most significant laws in our history to help millions of our Veterans who are exposed to toxic substances during their military service," he said.

The law, known as the PACT Act, helps Veterans get screened for exposure to things like Agent Orange, which was used for deforestation during the Vietnam War, and burn pits, where trash was destroyed on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The administration has been hosting scores of events around the country to draw attention to the new benefits. More than 730,000 Veterans have already received screenings, according to the White House.

Beau Biden, the president’s elder son, served as a major in the Delaware National Guard. He died of brain cancer in 2015, and the president has suggested that exposure to burn pits on his base in Iraq may have been the cause.

“I’m no doctor but it’s pretty clear a lot of guys and women are getting sick,” Biden said.

One time, he said, “I remember Beau calling and saying I collapsed on a run.”

Biden said every time he passes the National Guard facility, he gets “a little bit of a lump in my throat."

As he started his speech, the president said his wife, first Lady Jill Biden, warned him, “Joe, don't get emotional.”

“Not that I ever get emotional,” joked Biden, who is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

The legislation, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, was passed by Congress after years of advocacy by Veterans.

It became the source of controversy in July when Republicans blocked its advance in the Senate, leading to demonstrations on Capitol Hill.

Biden said he made it clear to Congress that “if they didn’t pass this damn burn pit bill, I was going to go on a holy war, not a joke."

In addition to the screenings, the law directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to assume that some respiratory illnesses and cancers are connected to burn pits. This allows Veterans to receive disability benefits without needing to prove direct causation.

Before the law, about three-quarters of disability claims involving burn pit exposure were denied by the government.

“Why should the burden be on the victim?” Biden said.

Biden was introduced by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del. He's the last Vietnam-era Veteran in the Senate, having served as a naval flight officer in Southeast Asia.

“To put it bluntly, this bill is going to save lives," Carper said. "A lot of them.”

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As he led the security team that protects senior officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Everett reported what he viewed as an ethical breach and misuse of taxpayer money by two top Trump political appointees.

He reached out to an office created by President Donald Trump to root out waste and corruption in VA’s top ranks. His disclosure in October was supposed to be kept confidential. But three hours after he pressed the send button on his computer, Everett, a disabled Army Veteran, was ordered demoted by one of the officials he had complained about, losing half of his responsibilities. He was given no reason.

Everett’s case, described by six current and former VA officials, is but one in a long list of alleged reprisals against employees who reported misconduct to the troubled Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP). Its disarray, one of the challenges confronting newly confirmed Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, represents an unkept promise by a president who proclaimed he would drain the swamp of corruption — especially at the long-troubled bureaucracy of close to 400,000 employees that cares for Veterans.

To many in the department, the Veterans community and both parties in Congress, the unusual program created to stop corruption has only carried out more of it.

Trump appointees cycled in and out of leadership roles, hiring unqualified friends and producing substandard inquiries of senior leaders’ misconduct, VA’s inspector general found. Two of three directors in four years had no investigative background. Instead of acknowledgment, whistleblowers faced reprisal.

With more than 3,400 complaints logged since 2017, an annual budget of $23 million and a staff of 100, the office recommended discipline against just 32 of thousands of senior leaders through mid-January, a number that struck some lawmakers as disappointingly low. It’s unclear how many managers were actually disciplined.

“The bottom line is that OAWP passively has shielded accountability at an agency that desperately needs it,” said Tom Devine, legal director of the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower-protection group. He called the record of discipline recommendations “indefensible.”

“We’ve arrived here today with very little to show for it,” said Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), who leads an oversight panel on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee that has scrutinized the office. He blamed the failures on VA political leaders: “We never had leadership at the top who appreciated the core mission it was tasked with.”

The official who ordered Everett’s demotion, former acting deputy secretary Pamela Powers, said in an interview that she did not act in response to his complaint but declined to give an explanation for the timing.

This account is based on interviews with 15 current and former VA officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.

Terrence Hayes, the current VA spokesman, declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to weigh in publicly on the previous leadership. McDonough said at his confirmation hearing in January that he would fight to improve Veterans’ access to care, a goal widely viewed as out of reach unless senior officials are held accountable.

Former spokeswoman Christina Noel wrote in an email that in the final two years of the Trump administration, the accountability office “filled the vast majority of its key leadership positions and hired qualified investigative supervisors to ensure a robust investigative and oversight capacity.” She wrote that it “has taken several steps to ensure that whistleblower identity is protected.”

Asked why so few senior leaders were disciplined, Noel said that was largely out of the office’s control because it was set up to recommend discipline, but not to impose it.

“I thought I was starting a job that was going to do good things for Veterans,” said Mike Booher, a retired Army Veteran hired last year as a human resources supervisor. The accountability office “should have been an example for the entire VA,” he said, “but it set the opposite example.” Booher quit after three months.

Complaint filed

Everett, 53, a former criminal investigator in the Army who later led security details for four high-ranking Pentagon leaders, was a division chief at VA’s law enforcement training center in Arkansas when he was recruited to Washington in 2018. The agency wanted him to clean up the executive protection division, which was troubled by overtime and travel abuses documented by the inspector general.

Two years into his tenure, though, Everett grew alarmed when Powers, who had recently become acting deputy secretary of the department, wanted to fly first-class on a trip with Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife, according to Everett’s complaint, portions of which were reviewed by The Washington Post and confirmed by two VA law enforcement officials. The flight ended up being canceled.

The complaint also said Powers demanded a larger permanent security detail than a threat assessment justified, with four agents and two vehicles.

Everett turned down both requests because guidelines did not warrant them, the complaint and officials said. But he was overruled by another political appointee, Daniel Sitterly, then chief of human resources.

With Powers traveling little and making few public appearances during the pandemic, several agents on her security detail were idle for long periods, the officials said. One agent assigned to the detail was an out-of-town VA police officer whose monthly lodging, meals and other expenses cost taxpayers more than $9,000.

Seeing no reason for what he regarded as an excessive use of taxpayer money, Everett turned to the accountability office, filing complaints against Powers and Sitterly.

Within three hours, Everett’s boss, the agency’s chief security officer, informed him in an email that the executive protection division was being reorganized “effective immediately.” Everett was no longer division chief and would not oversee Powers’s security detail. He kept his full salary.

Powers said in an interview that she had Everett removed from her detail because she questioned his competence. “I didn’t feel comfortable around him,” Powers said, adding that she had “no idea” Everett had filed a complaint about her conduct. Everett declined to comment.

Powers denied requesting a higher level of protection and said she “used less security than is authorized.” She also denied ever proposing to fly first-class while at VA.

The Post confirmed the existence of documents Everett provided to investigators with details of the flight and expanded security detail.

Everett received ratings of “outstanding” — the highest in government — in each of the past three years, according to performance appraisals reviewed by The Post.

Outgoing VA Secretary Robert Wilkie gave him a commendation in January for “outstanding contributions” during the pandemic. In his most recent review, Everett’s supervisor wrote, “Mr. Everett has done an exceptional job ensuring the protection of the VA Secretary and Deputy Secretary” during the pandemic.

Not fully independent

The accountability division, separate from the inspector general’s office, was established by the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, approved by a bipartisan vote in Congress. VA was given new authority to speed up dismissals and discipline against high-ranking officials.

At the time, the agency was struggling to regain its footing after an Obama-era scandal over wait times for medical appointments.

“We are sending a strong message: Those who fail our Veterans will be held, for the first time, accountable,” Trump said at the bill signing.

The office was not structured to be fully independent, an issue that drew criticism from whistleblower advocates. Its director is a political appointee who reports to the secretary. Agency attorneys, whose role is to defend managers, review recommendations to discipline them.

Many of the first hires, including those at senior levels, had no investigative background. Almost immediately, complaints of favoritism, mismanagement and retaliation against whistleblowers began pouring into lawmakers’ inboxes and the inspector general’s office, which opened an investigation.

Inspector General Michael Missal reported in late 2019 that “misdeeds and missteps” by the office’s first two leaders had nearly crippled its operations.

Investigators found skimpy training of investigators, a misunderstanding of the mission, a failure to discipline senior leaders, inferior work that failed to withstand legal scrutiny and other failures that left the office “floundering” in its duty to protect employees who reported wrongdoing.

By the time the report was completed, the accountability office was on its third director, a former House investigator who became its first Senate-confirmed leader.

When Tamara Bonzanto arrived in early 2019, the staff had received no formal training. The operation lacked basic standard operating procedures. Some investigators were handling just two cases as a backlog of almost 600 complaints mounted.

Bonzanto promised to improve the culture, increase training, bring oversight to investigations, hire new staff and set up training for VA employees in whistleblower rights. Her tenure cleared up many issues — but led to new ones.

Whistleblowers and others who raised concerns about the management of the office said they faced swift reprisals.

Brandon Coleman, who in 2014 disclosed lapses in care for suicidal Veterans in Phoenix, said he was reassigned in July 2019 and found himself with no meaningful work for 18 months after Bonzanto eliminated his fledgling program to mentor former whistleblowers.

In complaints to Congress, he called the office a “dumpster fire.” In an interview, he said Bonzanto did not respond to his repeated efforts to meet with her.

“I watched paint dry on my walls,” Coleman said, estimating his hours of productive work in 2020 at about 100.

Another staffer, a retired Army colonel hired as a supervisory investigator in 2018, lasted eight months before his firing, which came within days of telling his bosses he was speaking with the inspector general’s office about what he called a “toxic stew” of mismanagement and a “paucity of any actions” against senior leaders involved in misconduct.

The staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because an appeal of his firing is pending, said he had little recourse because he was still on probation.

“I was naive about the internals at VA,” he said. “It was bereft of professionalism.”

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) told Bonzanto at a hearing before his committee in the fall of 2019, “If I’m approached by a whistleblower from my district, I cannot in good conscience direct them to work with your office.”

Bonzanto had long chafed at what she believed was inappropriate interference from the secretary’s office in her hiring and management decisions, said three current and former VA officials.

Powers and Sitterly, the human resources chief, inquired with her several times to learn about pending investigations and the names of employees who had made disclosures, according to current and former agency officials.

They wanted to know whether the secretary’s team was targeted. Bonzanto told them the information was confidential and could not be released. The exchange was first reported by the nonprofit Project On Government Oversight.

“That organization was not succeeding,” Powers said. “We tried to give her the tools to help it succeed.”

Bonzanto declined to comment.

Wilkie appointed Sitterly as the accountability office’s second-in-command in November, returning him to a career role from a political appointment. There was no open competition for the job, and Bonzanto was not informed beforehand, officials said.

Sitterly retired unexpectedly on Jan. 29. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Coleman said he met with Bonzanto before she left office and now has a new assignment, reporting to his ninth supervisor in three years.

Everett, people who know him say, is still waiting to find out if he will get his full responsibilities back. The Biden administration has informed him that his case would soon be under review.

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WASHINGTON -- Vietnam War-era service members who were exposed to toxic herbicides are suffering the consequences, regardless of where in southeast Asia they were stationed, an Arkansas veteran says.

Bill Rhodes wants Americans who served in Thailand, like he did, to receive the same help as Americans deployed in Vietnam.

Legislation, introduced by U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., seeks to address the Mena area resident's concerns.

Similar efforts in 2017 and 2019 fell short, but Boozman, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, is hopeful this time will be different.

The committee's chairman, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has included Boozman's language in a larger bill, dubbed the Cost of War Act, which was passed out of committee in May.

"We're going to be working very, very hard to get that over the finish line this Congress, and I think we... actually have a fair chance of doing that," Boozman said earlier this year.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., has introduced the House version. U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., is a co-sponsor.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military used Agent Orange and a variety of other "tactical herbicides" to kill vegetation and defoliate trees.

Rhodes joined the military in 1968. He departed, more than a decade later, with the rank of staff sergeant, he said.

In 1973, he was stationed in Nam Phong, Thailand, at an air base where herbicides were used, he said.

Nearly a half-century later, "I've got multiple medical problems; three of the major ones associated with herbicide exposure," he said.

Now 72 years old, he is dealing with heart disease, prostate cancer and diabetes.

Under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the federal government recognized that veterans had been exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam.

When one of those veterans develops an illness that has been linked to herbicide exposure, the government now presumes that the medical condition is service-related.

Over the years, the presumption has been extended to other American service members, as well, including those working on Thai bases "at or near the base perimeter."

Rhodes and others argue that the presumption should apply to any American who was stationed there.

A group of veterans, including Rhodes, has been on Capitol Hill over the past two weeks lobbying to change the law.

"We've been up aggravating Congress," Rhodes said Friday. "We've been having meetings with congressmen, senators. Two weeks of it. Fifty-some-odd meetings [with lawmakers or staffers]."

Rhodes is a member of the board of Military-Veterans Advocacy, a Louisiana-based nonprofit group that advocates, litigates and lobbies on behalf of veterans.

He met with Boozman on Thursday and with Westerman the previous week.

It was the second time he'd consulted with them in Washington.

Thus far, he's been unable to meet with U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. to discuss the bill, he said.

"We've tried multiple times," he said.

Getting meetings with Boozman is "not very hard at all," he said.

"Unless something is going on, he's always available," Rhodes said.

Westerman has also been an ally. "He's just 100% supportive of what we're doing," Rhodes added.

Under the legislation, a presumption for U.S. veterans who served on Thai bases between Jan. 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976, would apply "without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed."

"It is reasonable to believe that veterans on Thai bases were exposed to Agent Orange no matter what their jobs were or where their duty stations were," Boozman said in a speech on the Senate floor earlier this year.

When his bill was introduced, Westerman said it was important for the nation to "keep its promises" to its veterans.

"Those who served during the Vietnam War in Vietnam and Thailand have earned care for exposure to Agent Orange, which they endured in service to our nation," he said.

Cotton, an Army veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, portrayed Boozman's efforts as laudable.

"I applaud Sen. Boozman for his work on this important issue and for his leadership on the Veterans Affairs Committee. Our veterans deserve no less than the best medical care our country has to offer," Cotton said in a written statement Sunday.

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A bill sponsored by a Marine Veteran in Congress could bring Department of Veterans Affairs benefits closer to Native American Veterans at Tribal Colleges and Universities, or TCUs.

The Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act , H.R. 2878, passed the House and was referred to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on May 19. The bill would increase funding for the Veteran Technology Education Course, or VET TEC, program; bolster student Veteran housing benefits; and enable partnerships between the VA and nonprofit organizations, states, tribes and localities to fight Veteran homelessness.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., reintroduced the bill in the House on April 28, along with co-sponsors Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz.; and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

"H.R. 2878 helps us keep our promise to Native Veterans, a group that has fought for this country in every war since the American Revolution," Gallego, a Marine Corps combat Veteran and member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement after the bill passed that chamber. "I am proud to have worked across the aisle to assemble this legislative package to help improve access to economic and educational opportunities for Veteran communities. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to get it signed into law."

Approximately 14,627 active-duty service members identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, according to a 2019 demographics report from the Defense Department.

O'Halleran told Military.com that Native American Vets have played a vital role in the U.S. military.

"Our Veterans have done so much for our country, and Native Americans have had the highest level of participation in our military on a per capita basis throughout America's history," he said. "We need to acknowledge that, but the best thing we can do for our Veterans is to make sure they're highly educated, and help them and their families out."

O'Halleran represents Arizona's 1st Congressional District, where 22.3% of residents are Native American, according to 2018 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"We have Veterans that have to travel five hours one way to get care and then turn around and go five hours back in the same day," O'Halleran told Military.com. "Even with the added funding that we've seen, it still hasn't gotten to a level where a Veteran, whether on tribal lands or in rural America, is getting treated the same as a Veteran in urban environments. They need to be able to get the benefits that they deserve."

Native American Veterans face unique challenges as they transition from military to civilian life, Johnson said in a statement to Military.com.

"Currently, at TCUs, there is no specific programming to help Native Veterans make the transition from active duty to college life," he said. "By expanding the already successful VetSuccess on Campus program to TCUs, Native Veterans will be able to access on-campus benefits assistance and counseling that other Veterans currently benefit from."

Johnson said he decided to co-sponsor the bill because "educational … programs are critical to the long-term success of our Native Veterans."

Moving forward, O'Halleran said that the government "needs to understand that they have to get out there" and proactively reach out to Native Veterans.

"There's a fairness issue, and we need to make sure that people start to understand that we have to reach out to our Veterans. You can't just sit in Phoenix or Tucson and say, 'Oh, we have a hospital here, or we have a program here," he said. "We need to continue down the path of treating our Veterans in these tribal and rural areas to the same level as we treat people in the rest of America."

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Two measures introduced in Congress by lawmakers this week would overhaul the way the Department of Veterans Affairs cares for millions of former service members who were exposed to toxic substances, from atomic radiation sites in the Pacific to open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The sweeping legislation, mostly focused on the issue of burn pits from recent wars, would compel VA to presume certain illnesses are linked to exposure to hazardous waste incineration, removing the burden of proof from Veterans.

Lawmakers and advocates, including comedian Jon Stewart, have said inaction at VA, government skepticism of linking toxic exposure to certain illness and concerns about budgets have left legions of Veterans without care.

“These individuals who volunteered to fight in these wars are now fighting their own government,” Stewart said Wednesday, ahead of the unveiling of legislation in the House. VA, he said, has built a system “that delays people and denies people.”

VA officials have said that scientific evidence linking exposure to illnesses was inconclusive. That has forced many Veterans to simply give up, submit futile disability claims or seek care elsewhere.

The legislation, and the advocacy that powered it, reframe Veteran care as a central cost of war, rather than an afterthought, Stewart said.

The bill introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, would provide health care and benefits to as many as 3.5 million Veterans believed to have been exposed to toxic material. Under the measure, VA would presume that war Veterans were exposed to burn pits if they develop any of 23 cancers or respiratory illnesses after deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries that house U.S. troops.

Veterans groups and lawmakers have said vast fields dedicated to burning war detritus — plastics, batteries, destroyed vehicles and sometimes amputated limbs — wrecked the bodies of service members. In Iraq, one large pit in Balad burned continuously for years, at one point incinerating 147 tons of waste per day, Military Times reported — about the equivalent of a fully grown blue whale.

But a majority of claims related to burn pits are denied, Takano said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that his bill would address processes VA uses to identify and confirm service-related health problems.

“It’s clear VA’s process hasn’t been working,” Takano said.

VA found nearly 16,000 claims made by Veterans of recent wars that included key words such as “burn pit.” About 60 percent were denied, the agency said, for reasons such as lack of medical diagnosis and an absence of evidence linking the health conditions to service.

Advocates and lawmakers celebrated the unveiling of the bills. But the measures are likely to face some opposition in Congress for what would be billions of dollars in costs.

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee who included a bill in the legislation, told Military.com that trimming costs could be crucial to the measure’s passage.

Takano and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman who introduced a similar bill Tuesday, did not provide estimated costs.

The human costs of inaction, advocates have said, is more stark.

Wesley Black, a former infantryman in the Vermont Army National Guard, served on two combat deployments, including at a primitive outpost in eastern Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Soldiers would stand guard for hours shrouded in noxious smoke drifting from a burn pit nearby, he said. Electronics, food packaging, various metals and bloody uniforms were all soaked in jet fuel and set ablaze round-the-clock.

Black was still on his tour when he developed chronic diarrhea and lost dozens of pounds. He later found blood in his stool, and VA diagnosed him with irritable bowel syndrome.

His condition worsened, and in 2017, VA diagnosed him with terminal colon cancer, he said.

Black’s cancer was “likely” caused by his exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, Thomas Abrams, an oncologist who treated Black at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, wrote in a letter in 2018.

Black’s cancer may have been caught sooner if “further investigation” had been done, Abrams wrote. Black has sued the U.S. government for medical malpractice of staff at a VA medical center in Vermont, his attorney Dan Perrone said.

Black, a 35-year-old father who has become an advocate for increased Veterans care, said he is taking experimental chemotherapy targeting his liver, where the cancer has spread.

Official acknowledgment that hazardous material is the culprit behind many illnesses would be a hard-won victory for Veterans who say VA has viewed their pleas for help with skepticism, Black said.

“The only thing we asked for when we came home is to take care of us. As long as I’m alive and these burn pits are a problem, I’m going to continue to fight,” he said.

In a statement, VA said it was working to accelerate changes advocates have long demanded.

“We understand that Congress and Veteran service organizations and advocates are working hard on this effort of toxic exposure and burn pits — and they should,” said Terrence Hayes, VA’s press secretary.

VA, Hayes said, “is seeking every avenue possible to develop a process with the utmost rigor where presumptives can be determined in a more expedient and holistic manner.”

For decades, Vietnam Veterans were denied care for exposure to defoliants such as Agent Orange. VA now presumes certain conditions are related to exposure. The proposed bills would expand care and benefits to Vietnam-era Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and elsewhere.

Those additions are important, Takano said, because the Pentagon still denies that U.S. troops operated outside Vietnam’s borders, making claims of exposure in some countries impossible to verify from government records.

The measures would also cover Veterans who were exposed to radiation during cleanup efforts at atomic testing sites in the Pacific and Veterans sickened after an Air Force bomber crashed in Spain in 1966. The incident triggered the release of plutonium from hydrogen bomb detonators.

Any pushback from lawmakers over cost would be disingenuous, said Jeremy Butler, the chief executive of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

A common analogy used by advocates, he said, is the spending bills arriving now are tabs for a dinner Congress already has eaten.

“It’s not as if this is a wish list,” Butler said. “It’s providing health care for those exposed to toxins by our own hand.”

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Gulfport, Miss. – A Saucier man pled guilty to stealing government property, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey A. Breen of the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) South Central Field Office.

According to court documents, Chad Paul Jacob, 54, pled guilty to stealing personal protective equipment (“PPE”), electronics, and medical equipment while working as the Assistant Chief of Supply Chain Management for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. Beginning in 2009 and until December 2020, Jacob stole VA property which he resold at local pawn stores and on his personal eBay account. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacob stole N-95 masks and resold them for grossly inflated prices. In total, Jacob made more than $50,000 selling the stolen N-95 masks and over $9,000 selling stolen iPads and iPhones.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, the VA Office of Inspector General has aggressively investigated the increasing and evolving threat posed by COVID-19-related fraud and criminal activity. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our ongoing work to stop those who take advantage of public health emergencies to perpetrate such frauds,” said VA OIG Special Agent in Charge Breen.”

Jacob is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7, 2021 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The VA Office of Inspector General is investigating the case.

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will begin deciding claims for the  Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 at 12:01 a.m., Philippine Standard Time, Jan. 1, 2020. The Philippines is the farthest east VA regional benefits office.

The Act extends the presumption of herbicide exposure, that include toxins such as Agent Orange, to Veterans who served in the offshore waters of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Signed into law Jun. 25, the law specifically affects Blue Water Navy (BWN) Veterans who served no more than 12 nautical miles offshore of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 6, 1962 and May 7, 1975, as well as Veterans who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between Jan. 1, 1967 and Aug. 31, 1971. These Veterans can now apply for disability compensation and other benefits if they have since developed one of 14 conditions that are presumed to be related to exposure to herbicides. Veterans do not need to prove that they were exposed to herbicides. The specific conditions can be found by searching the term “Agent Orange” on www.va.gov.

“For six months, VA worked diligently to gather and digitize records from the National Archives and Records Administration to support faster claims decisions,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “These efforts will positively impact the claims process for Veterans filing for these benefits.”

To be eligible a Veteran must have served in the identified locations during the specified time period and currently have a condition(s) associated with herbicide exposures, such as Agent Orange. Blue Water Navy claims are being processed under current prioritization criteria; however, special priority is being given to Veterans who are over the age of 85 or have a terminal condition. Qualifying recipients include affected Veterans who are still living and certain survivors of deceased BWN and Korean DMZ Veterans.

Survivors can file claims for benefits based on the Veteran’s service if the Veteran died from at least one of the 14 presumptive conditions associated with herbicides such as Agent Orange. The law also provides benefits for children born with spina bifida if their parent is or was a Veteran with certain verified service in Thailand during a specific period.

The Act includes provisions impacting the VA Home Loan Program. Veterans have more access to obtain no-down payment home loans, regardless of loan amount, and the home loan funding fee is reduced for eligible Reservists and National Guard borrowers who use their home loan benefits for the first time. VA’s website describes the eligibility of certain Purple Heart recipients who do not have to pay a funding fee as well as other benefits.

Veterans who want to file an initial claim for an herbicide-related disability can use VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits or work with a VA-recognized Veterans Service Organization to assist with the application process. Veterans may also contact their state Veterans Affairs Office.

BWN Veterans who previously filed a claim seeking service connection for one of the 14 presumptive conditions that was denied by VA may provide or identify any new and relevant information regarding their claim when reapplying. To re-apply, Veterans may use VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim. As a result of the new law, VA will automatically review claims that are currently in the VA review process or under appeal. Visit Blue Water Navy Veterans benefits for more information or call 1-800-749-8387 for special issues.

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Troops exposed to shockwaves from bomb blasts may be at higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological issues, even if they haven’t suffered a traumatic brain injury, recent Army-funded research suggests.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke found that even small explosions — ones unlikely to cause concussions or injuries — change the molecular structure of the brain, a study published last week in the journal Brain Pathology found.

“This finding may explain those many blast-exposed individuals returning from war zones with no detectable brain injury, but who still suffer from persistent neurological symptoms, including depression, headaches, irritability and memory problems,” Ben Bahr, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at UNC-Pembroke, said in an Army statement.

Explosions from roadside bombs, rockets and mortar rounds have affected many deployed troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the past 20 years. Traumatic brain injuries and concussions from these blasts often lead to problems with sleep and memory, and sometimes to depression that leads to suicide.

Long-term issues can arise from blasts that troops might not recognize as harmful at the time, Bahr said.

“Our interest was focused on the effects of low-level blast waves that soldiers can experience during training and in war zones... where nearby explosions can cause blast waves that can knock soldiers to their knees but they are able to get back up with no obvious injury to the body or brain,” Bahr said in an email.

To test the impact of explosions on troops, researchers used slices of rat brains, specifically from the hippocampus, which plays an important role in learning and memory.

They placed the brain tissue into a makeshift skull: an aquarium filled with warm water. Seven inches away from the aquarium was a 1.7-gram explosive charge, capable of a “seemingly innocuous level of blast wave intensity,” Bahr said.

The explosion produced a blast wave that pulsed through the air, the tank and then through the water before reaching the brain tissue.

The blast damaged the hippocampus and diminished electrical activity between neurons, said Frederick Gregory, program manager for the Army Research Office, which funded the research.

“You start seeing the development of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s plaque, as well as a loss in proteins you need to maintain your synaptic connections to your neurons,” Gregory said in a phone call. These effects could be seen after only one blast, with further explosions showing cumulative damage, he said.

The research also involved the Development Command Army Research Laboratory and the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers said they plan to look at the effects of blasts on other parts of the brain.

“Early detection of this measurable deterioration could improve diagnoses and treatment of recurring neuropsychiatric impediments, and reduce the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life,” Bahr said in the Army statement.

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LUBBOCK, Texas– The Veterans Outpost and the Military Veteran Peer Network, in coordination with Texas Tech Equestrian Center, will hold their 3rd annual Boots and Spurs Equine Therapy event for military Veterans on September 11, 2021.

The event encompasses therapeutic riding for Veterans and service members who have struggled with PTSD. The morning sessions include grooming/tacking, horse handling, and riding instruction.

After the morning session, lunch is served. In the afternoon, with the help of team members at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center and local cowboys, the Veterans are able to use the skills used in the morning to compete in fun and easy equestrian events with prizes going to top teams.

This event is free to our Veterans and reservations are required so we do not exceed the horse/rider limit. Feel free to contact me at 432-238-5524 or you can contact me by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. should you have any questions.

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This week’s episode of Borne the Battle features Marine Corps Veteran Alex Calfree, the co-founder of OpLign, a website that uses personal profiles of job seekers to connect them to employers and open up new career paths. Unlike most job-hunting websites which use keyword searches to connect job-seekers to employers, OpLign attributes its success to artificial intelligence that matches a user’s complete profile to the employment opportunities that will allow them to succeed.

After a few years of college, Calfree enlisted in the Marine Corps as an infantryman. He traveled between many different units before becoming a reconnaissance Marine, a job he described as “very cerebral” due to the demanding and required navigation and communication skills.

After transitioning out of the military, Calfree earned an undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration from Ohio State University with assistance from other Veterans and military members on campus.

In 2017, Calfree co-founded OpLign, an artificial intelligence-powered software application that connects job seekers to employers through a personal profile of education, experience, and skills. Calfree claims that OpLign’s “two-way mechanism of exchange” avoids the pitfalls of a static system of job postings and resumes.

According to Calfree, OpLign aims to work with companies that are Veteran-friendly. Many Veterans transitioning out of the military face challenges in the civilian job market due to their lack of experience, especially during the current employment crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Calfree hopes that OpLign can help those Veterans find opportunities and employment by showing employers how much value Veterans have to offer.

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Lowe's donated all new supplies to Nathan Adams, 'the lawn kid'

At 14 years old, Nathan Adams wanted to have a job but encountered one obstacle: he was too young.

Adams didn't let that stop him. With skills instilled in him from his grandfather, he started his own lawn mowing business. It quickly transpired into an opportunity to give back to the U.S. military community.

"When I was strong enough to push them over. He taught me how to start it and how to make it look good," Adams – known to his community as "the lawn kid" – told Fox News.

In May, Adams kicked off his lawn business and even raised enough money to buy his own equipment. In two weeks it broke down while Adams was mowing one of his clients' lawns.

Without hesitation, his clients and the community donated the funds to help him get proper supplies.

Then, "in a crazy turn of events," one of his previous clients, Leona Doherty, who worked for Lowe's, convinced the company to donate a brand new lawn mower and various other supplies, Nathan Adams' mom, Angela Adams, told Fox News.

They called it "the Cadillac of mowers," Nathan Adams said.

However, after losing his beloved grandfather Frederick Adams, a military Veteran and volunteer firefighter, the young 14-year-old wanted to use his new equipment and skills for a good cause.

"My grandfather passed in February, and I thought that maybe in his honor since I had my own business, I could cut lawns for Veterans for free," he said.

So that's exactly what Nathan Adams did. To start, he gave himself a goal of doing 50 lawns for 50 Veterans.

"I think my dad is looking down on Nathan…with so much pride because my dad was a fighter and as a Veteran, he taught myself, my sister and the grandkids that we should always be thankful to our Veterans because they're the reason why we get to be free and make decisions," Angel Adams said.

The first cut is always free. After that, Nathan Adams gives Veterans a discount each time he comes back.

Nathan and Angela Adams have been posting his progress on Facebook in hopes of luring in more potential customers. Each post is accompanied by an image of the freshly cut lawn, an American flag and "the lawn kid" holding up his hand to show the number of lawns he has accomplished.

In return, Veterans and organizations began reaching out to him, donating military apparel. In one instance, he was handed a "coin and a patch that's been all over the Middle East," Angel Adams said.

His mom, inspired by his tenacity, said he is showing the world that everyone has a different way of brightening someone's day,

"There's always a way to put good into the world when it seems like there's so much bad going on," she said.

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Traumatic brain injury remains a key health concern for the military. TBI ranges in severity from mild, moderate, severe and penetrating. Most traumatic brain injuries in the military are mild, otherwise known as concussion and most service members return to duty after recovering from their injuries, according to the Defense Health Agency’s Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Together with other elements of the Military Health System, DVBIC will offer resources and tools to educate the military community about TBI during Brain Injury Awareness Month this March.

A division of the Defense Health Agency Research and Development Directorate, DVBIC is the DoD’s TBI center of excellence. The center leverages state-of-the-science research to inform clinical recommendations and educate providers and patients and their caregivers.

More than 400,000 service members have been diagnosed with a first time TBI since 2000, according to figures published by DVBIC, which is charged with tracking TBI data in the military. Service members who may have been involved in a potentially concussive event need to see a medical provider as soon as possible since research shows getting treatment early helps to maximize outcomes. Most service members who sustain a mild TBI return to full duty within seven to 10 days through the “progressive return to activity” process--a standardized approach informed by the latest evidence-based research.

“This yearly observance (of Brain Injury Awareness Month) showcases the wide variety of MHS and DVBIC resources tailored to the needs of patients, providers, and caregivers,” said DVBIC Division Chief Navy Captain Scott Pyne. “These tools facilitate return to duty for active service members, and return to all aspects of civilian life for Veterans. We welcome the opportunity afforded by Brain Injury Awareness Month to highlight these endeavors.”

This year, DVBIC is highlighting how the military community – service members and Veterans, health care providers, researchers, educators, and families – works together to address TBI in the military with the theme, “TBI: Me, You & Us.”

Service members and Veterans have to be prepared to prevent a TBI while training or deployed, and need to educate themselves about TBI symptoms so they will know when to seek care. During March, DVBIC along with other organizations in the Military Health System, will share key resources to enable service members to help themselves and their fellow service members and Veterans. “A Head for the Future,” a DVBIC TBI awareness initiative, will feature videos highlighting “TBI Champions.” The videos share real stories of service members, Veterans, family members, providers, and advocates in the military TBI community. They reveal people coping successfully with TBI, as well as the people who support them.

DVBIC is the leading DoD authority on the development of clinical recommendations, guidelines and tools that inform health care providers who treat service members and Veterans on the latest scientific evidence regarding prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries. DVBIC’s revised screening tool, the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation 2 or MACE 2, can be used by all trained medical staff, not just corpsmen or medics. This revised tool has modernized the screening and evaluation of mild TBI by adding new assessment areas such as assessing eye movements and balance after a possible mTBI. Clinical guidelines regarding the “progressive return to activity” process are helping improve care of warfighters dealing with TBIs they experience at home and abroad. DVBIC’s medical surveillance and clinical education efforts help ensure providers are armed with the cutting-edge tools and resources to ensure that service members are ready when called to duty.

TBI recovery, however, relies on an entire community of caregivers and family members that are full partners in the healing process. DVBIC features a wide array of resources for caregivers who play a critical role in supporting the health and well-being of individuals with TBI, recognizing the emotional, physical and financial toll that is so often associated with caregiving.

Military Health System organizations, like the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Museum of Health and Medicine, will join DVBIC in sharing resources and tools online via websites, social media campaigns on Facebook and Twitter, and podcasts. Regional outreach events at numerous military and VA hospitals will engage local audiences with helpful resources for service members, Veterans and caregivers. Find relevant Brain Injury Awareness Month resources by using the hashtag #BIAMonth and join the conversation.

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ABINGDON, Va. – A Bristol, Tennessee man was sentenced today to three months of home confinement for conspiring with another man to pay and receive kickbacks. In addition to home confinement, he will pay $56,000 in monetary penalties and will be permanently excluded from participating in federal healthcare programs.

According to court documents, John Paul Linke, 58, conspired to receive and pay kickbacks to encourage urine drug screen testing performed by a lab in Florida. Some of the testing referred to the lab was paid for by Medicare, Virginia Medicaid, and TennCare. Co-conspirator Michael Olshavasky, of Miami, Florida, will be sentenced on September 22, 2021.

“The defendant’s diversion of critical federal and state funds that were needed to target the opioid crisis for his own greed is unconscionable,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bubar stated today. “We will continue to prioritize prosecuting health care fraud cases, and that we will continue to work closely with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and our other critical federal and state partners, to bring such providers to justice.”

“Healthcare providers who use kickback schemes like this one are not only defrauding our healthcare system, but they’re also stealing from Virginia taxpayers just to line their own pockets,” said Attorney General Herring. “Virginians trust their healthcare providers to make the best decisions for their patients without monetary gain or outside influence. I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work on this case as well as our local, state, and federal partners for their ongoing collaboration on cases where individuals try and defraud our Medicaid and Medicare systems.”

“Those who seek to profit off the opioid crisis through illegal schemes make the problem worse,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark S. McCormack, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who, through their dishonesty, jeopardize the public health.”

Between November 30, 2015, and May 30, 2016, Linke was employed at an office-based opioid treatment program that used medication-assisted treatment for patients suffering from substance use disorder. In exchange for being paid $5,000 per month, Linke arranged for the clinic to send urine drug screen samples to the laboratory in Florida where Olshavasky worked. These payments were disguised as commissions paid to Linke as an “independent sales representative” for Olshavsky’s company, Encore Holdings LLC. Olshavasky paid Linke at least $16,000 through Encore Holdings to direct WRC’s drug screening business to the Florida lab, although Linke was not actually an independent sales representative for Encore, and he did not act as such.

The Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Department of Health and Human Services—Office of Inspector General, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Virginia State Police investigated the case.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Janine M. Myatt and Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Ramseyer and Whit Pierce prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Physician practice located in North Easton

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a $100,000 settlement with Brockton Urology Clinic LLC (Brockton Urology), a physician practice located in North Easton, to resolve allegations that it violated federal health care laws resulting in false claims to Medicare.

As detailed in the settlement agreement, in 2011, Brockton Urology entered into an agreement with a Massachusetts hospital which obligated Brockton Urology to administer a “Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence” at said hospital. However, as Brockton Urology admits, the hospital never created a Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence and Brockton Urology never provided a physician to serve as the director of a Prostate Cancer Program. Yet from April 2011 through December 2017, the hospital paid Brockton Urology purportedly pursuant to the agreement and Brockton Urology referred patients to the hospital.

The United States contends that this course of conduct constitutes an unlawful financial relationship between Brockton Urology, a party that referred health services, and the hospital, the entity that billed Medicare for those services. Through this violation of the law, Brockton Urology caused the submission of false claims to Medicare.

“Strict adherence to federal laws and regulations concerning the administration of our health care system is critical,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “These safeguards are designed to protect the United States government from waste, fraud, and abuse. Our Office and its law-enforcements partners are vigilant in our efforts to stop anyone—hospitals, corporations, and even physician practices—that might be cutting corners and failing to follow our health care laws.”

“This settlement sends a clear message that these types of financial arrangements will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that all medical providers properly follow health care rules and regulations,” said Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “I appreciate the partnership with the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office in identifying and prosecuting this type of fraud.”

“The False Claims Act exists to protect the wallets of hard-working taxpayers,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This settlement with Brockton Urology is a result of our continued efforts to protect the integrity of our health care programs for the patients who depend on them.”

U.S. Attorney Rollins, HHS-OIG SAC Coyne and FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. The Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General also provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles B. Weinograd and Jessica J. Weber of Rollins’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.

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SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Muhammad Z. Aabdin, age 30, of the Bronx, New York, has been indicted for offering bribes to a public official and using facilities of interstate commerce to commit a bribery offense. The indictment was announced today by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office.

The indictment, returned by the grand jury on June 10, 2021, alleges that in September and October 2020, Aabdin offered unsolicited bribes to a contracting officer with the Veterans Administration (“VA”) in Syracuse. Aabdin allegedly offered to share profits with the VA contracting officer in exchange for her awarding VA contracts to him for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and assisting him in getting payments on such contracts. The contracting officer reported Aabdin’s alleged bribery offers to law enforcement.

Aabdin has been released pending disposition of the charges. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charges filed against Aabdin carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by VA Office of Inspector General, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

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SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Muhammad Z. Aabdin, age 32, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty today to offering a bribe to a public official, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office.

In pleading guilty, Aabdin admitted that in September 2020, he offered a bribe to a contracting officer with the Veterans Administration (“VA”) in Syracuse. Specifically, Aabdin offered to share profits with the VA contracting officer in exchange for her awarding VA contracts to him for personal protective equipment (“PPE”). Aabdin made the initial bribe offer by email and then reiterated it in subsequent text messages and in a recorded phone conversation with an undercover agent posing as the contracting officer. In text messages dated October 15, 2020, Aabdin offered a bribe of $8,333.33 in the event he received a VA contract for N-95 masks leading to a total profit of $25,000.

The defendant will be sentenced on March 8, 2023 by United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. Aabdin faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by VA Office of Inspector General, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

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Jack Le Vine's neighbors in South Slope, Brooklyn, made this Veterans Day one that none of them will ever forget.

Le Vine is a 96-year-old World War II Veteran who has lived on the same block his entire life. His neighbor Elizabeth Dowling told The New York Times that "when our Vets return home, they're often forgotten and ignored," and she wanted to celebrate Le Vine. She posted about Le Vine on a community bulletin board, and asked others to consider leaving him "a little token of gratitude."

Their neighbors heeded the call, and on Wednesday, the deliveries began. People Le Vine had never met before were dropping off cards, letters, potted plants, and other gifts. One envelope was addressed to "Jack the Hero," and another had a drawing of a soldier. Le Vine, a retired captain with the New York City Fire Department, met the neighbors as he took out the trash and was out in his yard.

The visitors kept coming on Thursday, arriving with homemade banana bread and more cards and flowers. Le Vine told the Times he typically does "nothing" on Veterans Day, and doesn't think anyone from his unit is still living — the National World War II Museum says almost 99 percent of those who served in the war are dead, and there are fewer than 5,000 Veterans in New York City. Seeing how many people took the time to write messages, buy presents, and make treats for him touched Le Vine. "These people must love me on this block!" he said.

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"Immediately, [in my mind] it's not 'I'm going to get killed.' It's 'if I don't go up there, these guys will die.' There's no second-thinking, you just do it," DeRuggiero told Army Times.

On Thursday, DeRuggiero received a Silver Star for his bravery in a small conference room crammed with two to three dozen people in a congressional office building. It was the culmination of a long effort by his former leaders to properly recognize his actions.

The description of DeRuggiero's heroics June 17, 1968, leap off the award citation's page. The fire team leader of 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon, C Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Corps, fought "with total disregard for his own life for more than five hours" to protect three wounded soldiers. He fought off flanking attacks, provided care and assurance, and despite his own wounds did not withdraw to safety until the last of the three endangered paratroopers had been evacuated.

Like so many citations, it still doesn't capture the full story.

'I'm screwed'

DeRuggiero, drafted in 1966, said Vietnam felt like a different world. He said men in his unit referred to home as "the world." His unit faced "horrendous conditions; we lived like animals," receiving supplies of food, socks and ammo every three weeks and little else. During his year in Vietnam his unit almost never saw the rear. The war was chaos, and one couldn't rely on any particular strategies to deal with the life-threatening scenarios that emerged regularly, and often suddenly.

"It was more survival than it was a purpose to fight in a war. Realizing later on, in my opinion, it had very little to do with freeing a people. There was a civil war there, no one wanted us there," he said. "So now what we were left with was the guy next to you and how we were going to live through this and be proud of what we've done."

That shared adversity, survival mentality and brotherhood would factor into his decision to risk his life to save others.

DeRuggiero's company had just engaged in an assault on a Viet Cong base camp near Bao Loc; eventually uneven numbers forced the company to retreat. DeRuggiero said he was last to retreat, but before he could leave the area he saw uniforms he knew were American. One of the three was trying to resuscitate the other, he said, and a third, wounded in the stomach, was on the ground nearby.

"He went out to help this wounded person. He was pretty much alone. He was alone," Davids said.

DeRuggiero fought off Viet Cong for hours with "hand grenades and well-aimed M-16 fire," the citation reads. Davids said at times "he hovered over" one of the wounded. During the battle DeRuggiero himself was wounded twice: He took grenade shrapnel in his hip area, and a rifle bullet ricocheted and hit his calf, though the slowed bullet "didn't go all the way through," DeRuggiero said. He called his wounds "light"; he'd spend eight days in the hospital after the battle. But for a while it looked like he'd never get to a hospital.

Hours in he was hiding behind a termite hill about 2 feet tall. He said he saw a Viet Cong with an AK47 approach from about 30 feet away. He aimed his gun — which turned out to have a broken firing pin.

"I pointed at his head and pulled the trigger; nothing happened. Just a click. And he heard the click. And my heart was pounding. So I says, oh, I'm screwed," DeRuggiero said.

He ejected the round. He said that while the sounds got his adversary's attention, the other bodies, partial obstruction of his position and other gunfire made him a little more difficult to find. So he aimed again. Click. He cleared the chamber and tried a third time. Click.

"Now he's probably 12, 13 feet away from me. I'm not going to get captured. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to die fighting," said DeRuggiero, who was angry after watching several friends die. "I say goodbye to my parents, say goodbye to my brothers and sisters. And say I'm going to kill him."

He had a knife hidden under his chest, ready to attack when the man got close enough to realize he was still alive. He had smeared blood from his wound onto his face to appear dead. Then he felt something: the heavily used barrel of an M16, largely buried by an earlier explosion, burned his arm. He pulled it out, saw it didn't have a clip in it, and acted fast.

"I popped in a clip and I blew him away," he said.

Not too long after that, reinforcements including air support arrived; that allowed enough breathing room for the group to evacuate. Davids said nearly the entire platoon of about 30 paratroopers were either killed or wounded in the fight. Two of the three men DeRuggiero risked his life defending died, but one survives to this day.

Unique camaraderie, belated recognition

The camaraderie that led DeRuggiero to fight also pushed the effort to recognize him.

Davids submitted his recommendation to award DeRuggiero from the field. When he returned to the rear, he said, no one had seen it. He put it back in the system, but it was rejected. He said the explanation made clear no one had read it because it didn't make sense. After spending so much time in confined spaces and facing hell, the intimate brotherhood was not going to allow DeRuggiero's fellow soldiers to just let it go.

After the war, they spent decades trying to find a way through the bureaucracy. Meanwhile DeRuggiero left the Army in 1969 and went on to work as a gemologist and then a carpenter. But he remained close to his former comrades in arms.

"Coming home afterward, I was never able to achieve that kind of camaraderie in a workplace, which was disappointing to me. It's unfortunate. You can accomplish so much more when you work together as a coherent team," DeRuggiero said.

The most recent effort to recognize him came when Brewster, the company commander and a Colorado resident, contacted Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and, in Gibson's words, "wouldn't take no for an answer." On Jan. 4, the Army signed off on the upgrade.

At the ceremony, Gibson, a retired colonel with more than two decades in the Army before his election to the House in 2010, said he'd seen his share of firefights but nothing like what DeRuggiero experienced. The former commander of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, occasionally broke up during his speech, and paid tribute to those who had died in the war. He said that although Vietnam constituted just a bit over 1 percent of DeRuggiero's life, it had an outsized share in defining him, as it did for many others.

"Every soldier wonders how they'll do in an especially difficult situation. Sometimes they'll go their whole life wondering. Stan will never have to worry about that," Gibson said to the audience. "We will never be able to fully repay you. We will never be able to adequately recognize you. But we will be able to say thank you."

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Darnell Curry, 27, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder to assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Fabian, who is handling the case, stated that on February 19, 2020, while at the Starbucks inside the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo, the defendant engaged in a verbal argument with a female friend employed at Starbucks.

Three Department of Veterans Affairs Police officers approached Curry in response to a complaint about the verbal argument. When the defendant did not hear or acknowledge verbal commands, an officer touched Curry's shoulder. The defendant turned and a scuffle with the officers ensued. During the scuffle, Curry pulled an officer by the vest and into his body. In the process, the defendant struck the officer in the head, leaving a mark on his cheek below his left eye. Physical resistance by the defendant resulted in the officers taking Curry to the ground, handcuffing, and detaining him.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Algieri, and the VA Medical Center Police, under the direction of Chief Michael Steinmetz.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 16, 2020, before Judge Schroeder.

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Tent-lined streets with belongings scattered everywhere. Infected wounds with bugs living inside. A man who hasn't showered in over a decade. An 80-year-old woman who can't feed herself. People who ride the metro rail lines because the trains are a safer place to sleep.

California's homeless problem has been out of control for decades. Then came COVID-19.

The result has been a deadly combination of medical crisis, human hopelessness and bureaucratic red tape as the state, reeling from the effects of the virus, tries to rebound with a plan for the 160,000 homeless people. That number eclipses any other state – and accounts for half of the country's entire unsheltered population.

A severe shelter and housing shortage is becoming not just a social services problem but a political one as well, unlike anywhere in the country – thrusting the problem before the eyes of Californians who see people suffering and dying on the streets each day.

"There isn't real clear leadership, there isn't clear accountability," says John Maceri, who heads The People Concern, one of the largest homeless relief organizations in the Los Angeles area, the epicenter of the crisis. "You have this very fractured system. It really is like herding cats."

The state is at a crossroads in its post-pandemic attempt to curb homelessness, and the rest of the nation is watching. Gov. Gavin Newsom has set aside $12 billion in what he called a historic budget to combat homelessness. COVID-19 protections are nearing an end, meaning evictions will soon be allowed and could worsen the problem.

And all of it is happening while a lawsuit threatens to reshape how Los Angeles – and perhaps the state – has tackled homelessness after a federal judge issued a scathing rebuke of the decades of failed plans, leadership and promises to fix the problem.

Layers of housing bureaucracy and years without solving homelessness

Solving the cycle of homelessness has befuddled policymakers for decades. Money is thrown at it, as are new ideas. Yet more people end up living on the streets.

For about 30 years, Karen Barnes has worked to help people experiencing homelessness in the state. Many of those she and her team have worked with suffer from extreme mental illness and other illnesses, from out-of-control diabetes to sexually transmitted diseases and wounds and abscesses that went untreated for such a long time that maggots have infested them.

"The fact that people are somehow able to survive out there for that long is you know, amazing, but they have to be really tough," said Barnes, who helps lead an outreach team at PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) in Los Angeles aiming to help those experiencing homelessness on transit lines. "These are humans and we can't lose sight of that."

She told stories from those living on the streets and the successes she has seen with finding a person shelter or care, including one man who had a severe mental illness and was later found with terminal cancer. They helped him get into hospice care, where he died.

"We went to give him a birthday cake and had a little birthday party with him right before," Barnes said. "At least the end wasn't, you know, what it could have been. He was happy at the end. That made it worth it."

It can take years to get someone into stable housing because of the distrust within the homeless community and concerns about being burned by a system that has failed them, she said. Many shelters are rough places and come with rules that include curfews. Instead, some choose to stay in a place they know, even if that means sleeping outside, without a bed or any shelter – something California's climate makes more possible than in other areas of the country.

The state accounts for more than half of the country’s unsheltered population, according to a report released in January from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While New York has a large number of people experiencing homelessness, the state offers shelter to 95% of those people. In contrast, about 70% of those experiencing homelessness in California lived outside or in vehicles.

At its core, experts, advocates and state officials say a handful of issues have made tackling homelessness even harder: a high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, scattershot efforts with too many agencies, too much red tape and an unclear direction.

The state is one of the most expensive to live in, a problem only worsened with a shortage of about 1.3 million affordable rental homes, according to the California Housing Partnership. The lack of affordable housing hasn’t been easy to solve. New housing ventures take years, sometimes decades, to complete.

And they aren’t cheap. The Los Angeles Times chronicled one affordable housing project’s decadelong path, identifying the various issues that led to the project shrinking to about half its size and growing to more than double its cost – about $1 million per unit.

Layers of bureaucracy require developers to navigate a labyrinth of departments and funding sources that drag out the process, all while strict rules on labor and environmental standards drive up costs. Along with lack of funding, such projects are often met with opposition from the community.

Advocates and experts have watched public officials roll out various plans over the years only to eventually see money dry up or a lack of meaningful progress.

"What happens is we roll out a new pilot program only to have to ramp it down when the problems are still mounting and people are still needing help," said Jennifer Hark Dietz, deputy chief executive officer at PATH. "We really need an ongoing commitment from the state and local level to kind of dig us out of this hole."

A report by the nonpartisan state auditor this year found the state’s approach was fragmented and hindered efforts to house people. It noted California had spent $13 billion over three years through various agencies and programs to address the problem, yet it lacked a centralized way to oversee efforts or track progress and spending. The office of State Auditor Elaine Howle said California continues to have the largest homeless population in the nation “likely in part because its approach to addressing homelessness has been disjointed.”

Since the report, the state has rolled out a new database that tracks homelessness and those who seek help across the state, aiming to identify best practices and where money should be spent.

“You can’t fix what you can’t measure and having a statewide data system will help us determine what’s working and what isn’t,” Newsom said in April when the database was unveiled.

Deaths on city streets and in cars

The crisis in California has left a trail of death.

Some come from drug overdoses, violence or untreated illnesses that compound over time. Others come from suicide. These people die under freeways, along sidewalks and in alleys, hospitals and vehicles. More than 1,300 died last year in Los Angeles County alone. An additional 1,200 died the year before that.

Some, like Joshua Ray Williams, are never reunited with their families even after death. He was found dead last year of a drug overdose outside a Jack in the Box along bustling Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. A manager of the restaurant found him and called first responders after seeing his face was blue. Crosstown, a local news outlet in Los Angeles, wrote about his death and others who died last year, deaths they say are largely forgotten.

A homeless family of four dressed in pajamas died in a parked van outside a CVS in Garden Grove, about 30 miles outside Los Angeles, in 2018. Both children were in diapers. Sheets covered the windows, aiming to keep the sunlight out. They'd been living in the van for a long time. Authorities said carbon monoxide was to blame.

While California's typical warm weather makes living outside more feasible than in other regions, it isn't safer. Greg Tarola was found dead in November after cold temperatures and batch of storms hit the Sacramento area. The father of two who suffered from diabetes and epilepsy was found wrapped in wet blankets, according to Sacramento Loaves & Fishes, a homeless organization that serves the area.

$12 billion and a judge who could force a different housing plan

Those experiencing homeless in California range from someone riding the metro to sleep to those who have set up tent communities that feature everything from forms of government with elected leaders, security mirrors and bee hives set up to act as protection against unwelcome visitors. Many have mental illnesses. Others suffer from physical ailments.

"I've done this work and similar work in Boston, in New York, and I think I see the most vulnerable people that I've ever seen on the street in this community," said Ciara DeVozza, who helps lead outreach in the skid row community for The People Concern.

The pandemic cast a new spotlight on the state’s homelessness crisis, laying bare the danger of living in such unsanitary conditions. Even without the pandemic, people experiencing homelessness die each day in Los Angeles County. Last year, the county’s medical examiner documented more than 1,300 deaths, a number advocates say is probably much higher.

Homelessness groups rushed to house people while also getting people access to coronavirus tests and vaccines once they were available.

'We're not wanted':Homeless people were put in hotels to keep them safe. Now they're being evicted

Tent encampments are typical sights under freeways and in areas such as skid row – a pocket of downtown Los Angeles known for its vast homeless population – but the pandemic, shutdowns and quarantines caused them to spread across the city. Encampments popped up in parking lots, neighborhood parks and outside schools, not only in Los Angeles but other parts of the state.

In San Francisco alone, tent encampments grew by 70% and became more visible across the city, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Last month, Newsom proposed a $12 billion investment to fight homelessness using a budget surplus and federal dollars passed to help COVID-19 recovery efforts.

The proposal includes $8.75 billion over two years to create an estimated 46,000 housing units, expanding on a program launched during the pandemic to convert motels and other properties into housing. It also includes $3.5 billion on rental subsidies, new housing and shelter resources with the aim of ending family homelessness within five years.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti similarly made homelessness a centerpiece of his budget, setting aside about $1 billion for the city’s homelessness crisis.

But as state and city leaders pitched their plans, a lawsuit filed last year by residents, business owners and developers aiming to force the city and county of Los Angeles to house those on skid row was working its way through the courts. A federal judge ordered in April that the city and county must provide shelter for the nearly 5,000 unhoused people living on skid row by October, an order that's being appealed.

“All of the rhetoric, promises, plans, and budgeting cannot obscure the shameful reality of this crisis – that year after year, there are more homeless Angelenos, and year after year, more homeless Angelenos die on the streets,” Judge David Carter wrote in a scathing 110-page order that documented the history of the area’s homelessness crisis and chastised elected leaders for their efforts. He noted the systemic racism that has also played a major role. While African Americans amount to less than 6% of the state's population, they account for about 31% of those who access homelessness services.

Carter wrote the city had “lost its parks, beaches, schools, sidewalks, and highway systems due to the inaction of city and county officials who have left our homeless citizens with no other place to turn.”

State and local leaders, along with some advocates, said they worried that the order, which included forcing Los Angeles to put $1 billion in an escrow account, would just warehouse the problem and halt progress on permanent solutions.

Benjamin Henwood, a licensed clinical social worker, an associate professor and director of the Center for Homelessness, Housing and Health Equity Research at the University of Southern California, noted this could mimic a similar system that was created in New York after a landmark case argued the city should be required to provide some form of shelter for those experiencing homelessness.

While such a system creates more sanitary and humane living arraignments, Henwood said in many ways it merely removed the crisis from the eyes of New Yorkers without a clear path to helping solve it.

"I think essentially, it created a huge shelter system that, while it got people off the streets, it didn't get them out of homelessness," he said. "In fact, it just sort of created a cycle of homelessness because the way the system set up, you get in, you have to get assigned, you move around. It doesn't it doesn't really facilitate an exit from homelessness."

Those behind the lawsuit argue immediate action is needed to prevent deaths. They say going through the courts was a last resort but something that could provide a broader precedence helping to house those experiencing homelessness in other areas.

"Even in these very interesting political times we're living in, homelessness is like the one issue that cuts across all demographics, where everyone basically agrees it's terrible and something needs to happen," said Daniel Conway, a policy adviser for the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, the coalition of residents, business owners and developers behind the case.

"With this lawsuit, we were kind of trying to force that decision making process. And also recognizing that anything you did in L.A. could set a set a model, a precedent for the rest of California, if not the rest of the western U.S."

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced that John Paul Cook, 57, of Alexander, N.C. appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf on Monday, July 19, 2021, and pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) by receiving nearly $1 million in Veteran benefits based on fraudulent claims of service-connected disabilities.

Kim Lampkins, Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Washington, D.C., of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), joins Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.

According to the criminal indictment, filed plea documents and admissions made in court, Cook enlisted in the United States Army (the Army) in November 1985. Court documents show that six months later Cook sustained an accidental injury while on duty. Following the incident, Cook complained that as a result of the accident and injuries he sustained, a preexisting eye condition had worsened. In 1987, following a medical evaluation, Cook was discharged, placed on the retired list, and began receiving VA disability-based compensation at a rate of 60%. Over the next 30 years, Cook’s disability-based compensation increased, following Cook’s repeated false claims of increased visual impairment and unemployability due to “severe visual deficit.” As Cook admitted in court, in 2005, based on his claims of severe visual impairment, the VA declared Cook legally blind and he began receiving disability-based compensation at the maximum rate. Cook also began to receive additional benefits, including Special Monthly Compensation (an extra monetary allowance paid to a qualifying Veteran due to the severity of his disability), Specially Adapted Housing (a grant that goes toward paying for adaptations in a new home), and Special Housing Adaptation (a grant that goes toward remodeling an existing home).

According to court records, Cook’s monthly VA disability payments in 1987 were $1,411 per month. With the incremental increases in his disability rating, as well as cost-of-living adjustments and his Special Monthly Compensation, these payments steadily increased over the years. By 2016, the monthly payment had risen to $3,990. In total, from 1987 through 2017, Cook received approximately $978,138 in VA disability payments due to his claimed blindness, to which he was not lawfully entitled.

According to admissions reflected in plea documents, contrary to Cook’s filed claims with the VA for additional disability claims and his complaints of increased visual impairment, Cook repeatedly passed vision screening tests to renew or obtain a driver’s license in North and South Carolina. Furthermore, during the relevant time period, court documents show that Cook purchased and registered over 30 different motor vehicles which Cook routinely drove, including on long-distance trips and to perform errands. Court records further show that, from 2010 to 2016, during a time period that Cook was receiving maximum VA disability benefits for his visual impairment, Cook was actively involved with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), including serving as a Den Leader and a Cubmaster. Among the courses the defendant completed with the BSA were courses qualifying him to be a range officer for BB guns and for archery. He was also certified for land navigation, which involves reading maps and using a compass.

The charge of stealing from the VA carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date for Cook has not been set.

In making today’s announcement Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the VA-OIG for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville is in charge of the prosecution.

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Construction Firms Received $346 Million for Contracts Set Aside for Veterans, Minorities

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Olathe, Kansas, man who conspired with others to control construction businesses that received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government contracts, was sentenced in federal court today for defrauding the government with respect to contracts set aside for service-disabled Veterans and certified minorities.

“This contractor not only defrauded the government, but cheated to get contracts that should have gone to firms led by disabled Veterans and minority owners,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “His greed and deception allowed him to enrich himself at the expense of disabled Veterans and minority owners. After forfeiting more than $5.5 million to the government and being sent to prison, he has learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay.”

Matthew C. McPherson, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to two years and four months in federal prison without parole. McPherson also has forfeited to the government $5,516,786, which represents his share of the fraud proceeds.

“Today’s outcome demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the DoD procurement process and the Small Business Administration set-aside programs intended to help smaller and/or disadvantaged businesses," said Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mentavlos, DCIS Southwest Field Office. “We will continue to aggressively investigate and hold those accountable that take advantage of the U.S. government and taxpayer.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that contractors unjustly enriching themselves at the expense of our nation’s Veterans will not be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gavin McClaren with the VA Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office. “We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our outstanding law enforcement partners for their efforts in this joint investigation.”

“McPherson’s sentence sends a strong message that IRS-Criminal Investigation and its federal partners are committed to leveling the playing field when federal contracts are involved,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, St. Louis Field Office. “The government established unique programs designed to help small disadvantaged businesses gain a foothold in the awarding of government contracts. McPherson lied about being qualified for these contracts and used nominees to further his crime.” Hatcher added, “These crimes have a significant negative impact on small disadvantaged businesses.”

On June 3, 2019, McPherson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and major program fraud. McPherson admitted that he participated in a conspiracy from September 2009 to March 2018 to obtain contracts set aside by the federal government for award to small businesses owned and controlled by Veterans, service-disabled Veterans, and certified minorities. McPherson, who is neither a certified minority nor a Veteran, was the owner of an established construction company in Topeka, Kan. (identified in court documents as Business C) that was not entitled to compete for those federal contracts.

McPherson and his co-conspirators controlled and operated Zieson Construction Company. The business was formed on July 9, 2009, with Stephon Ziegler, 61, of Weatherby Lake, Mo. – an African-American service-disabled Veteran – as the nominal owner. Zieson’s primary business was obtaining federal construction contracts set aside for award to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled Veterans or certified minorities. However, Ziegler did not control the day-to-day operations or the long-term decision making of Zieson. McPherson and his co-conspirators actually controlled and operated Zieson, and received most of the profits from Zieson through the respective business entities.

Between 2009 and 2018, Zieson was awarded approximately 199 federal contracts set aside for award to small businesses, minority-owned small businesses, and Veteran-owned small businesses for which the government paid Zieson approximately $335 million. McPherson and his co-conspirators, through their business entities, received approximately $4,183,920 each from Zieson by using false and fraudulent invoices.

Ziegler pleaded guilty on May 21, 2019, to making a false statement to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Ziegler is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2022.

In 2014, when Zieson was growing too large to compete for small business contracts, McPherson and his co-conspirators used the minority status of another Zieson employee, Native American Rustin Simon, 45, of Smithville, Mo., to set up Simcon Corp as a small business in the state of Missouri. Simcon’s business, like Zieson’s, was to obtain federal construction contracts set aside for award to qualified small businesses. In reality, McPherson and his co-conspirators managed and controlled Simcon. Simcon was awarded a $4,423,638 contract in July 2016 from the U.S. Air Force and a $6,911,404 contract in September 2016 from the U.S. Army.

Zieson and Simcon used the same employees and shared office space and equipment. Zieson and Simcon were located in a building owned by an LLC that was controlled by McPherson and his co-conspirators. Zieson purported to subcontract work to Simcon (which Simcon did not actually perform) to establish alleged past performance and profitability. This allowed Simcon to claim experience and financial strength to successfully compete for federal set-aside contracts. McPherson and his co-conspirators each received approximately $319,866 from Simcon using false and fraudulent invoices.

Simon pleaded guilty on June 19, 2019, to two counts of making material false statements to the Small Business Administration and awaits sentencing.

McPherson also caused Business C to submit false and fraudulent invoices to Zieson in order to hide and receive profits from the scheme.

Co-defendant Patrick Michael Dingle,50 of Parkville, Mo., pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, 2020, and awaits sentencing. Dingle pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and major program fraud. Dingle also pleaded guilty, in a separate case, to one count of filing a false tax return.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul S. Becker and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Perkins Rock. It was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Inspector General; the Army Criminal Investigation Command, Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Secret Service; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Procurement Fraud; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency - Operations Investigative Support (OIS); the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

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An organization that describes itself as the largest progressive group of Veterans in the nation is backing South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

VoteVets.org announced on Wednesday its endorsement of Buttigieg, who took a leave of absence in 2014 to be deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as an intelligence officer from the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Emphasizing that beating President Trump in the 2020 election is “the number one priority,” Iraq War Veteran and VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz said, “We need a candidate who will win. Bar none, Pete gives us the best shot at doing just that. It is time to rally around him, and stop the walking, talking national security threat that is Donald Trump.”

Soltz highlighted that “Pete is also someone who has the experience, as a war Veteran, to be an exemplary Commander in Chief, because he understands and has experienced the unique global security challenges we face right now, and the has the personal understanding of our Veterans’ needs.”

The 13-year-old group – which claims to represent roughly 700,000 Veterans – has long backed Veterans in congressional races, but this is their first endorsement in a presidential primary.

VoteVets announced it would be immediately contributing to Buttigieg’s campaign and would use its social media networks and email list to support his White House bid.

"I'm honored to have this endorsement from my fellow Veterans as we seek to take on our nation's most urgent challenges and pick up the pieces and put the country back together after Trump," said the 37-year-old candidate.

"In uniform, I learned that when Americans from different backgrounds are brought together for a common purpose, we form the strongest fighting force in the world," he added.

Once the longest of long shots for the nomination, Buttigieg soared to top-tier status as he's surged in the early voting state polls and hauled in tons of campaign cash.

Buttigieg is one of two Veterans in the large field of Democratic White House contenders. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an officer in the Hawaii National Guard, served a tour of duty in Iraq.

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• By referring to COVID-19 vaccines as “vaccines” rather than gene therapies, the U.S. government is violating its 15 U.S. Code Section 41, which regulates deceptive practices in medical claims
• The mRNA injections are gene therapies that do not fulfill a single criteria or definition of a vaccine
• COVID-19 “vaccines” do not impart immunity or inhibit transmissibility of the disease. They only are designed to lessen your infection symptoms if or when you get infected. As such, these products do not meet the legal or medical definition of a vaccine
• Since a vast majority of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 have no symptoms at all, they’ve not even been able to establish a causal link between the virus and the clinical disease
• By calling this experimental gene therapy technology a “vaccine,” they are circumventing liability for damages that would otherwise apply.

TAP. Forecast rates of death amongst those receiving COVID gene ‘therapy’ are 50% within 5 years. Some therapy. (Dr Dolores Cahill). It’s a similar story to AIDS being spread via the Hepatits B vaccine. That killed 120 million Africans alone. Organised by Dr Antony Fauci. This Fauci ‘vaccine’ could kill in the billions if it is not stopped.

Did you know that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines aren’t vaccines in the medical and legal definition of a vaccine? They do not prevent you from getting the infection, nor do they prevent its spread. They’re really experimental gene therapies.

I discussed this troubling fact in a recent interview with molecular biologist Judy Mikovits, Ph.D. While the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA shots are labeled as “vaccines,” and news agencies and health policy leaders call them that, the actual patents for Pfizer’s and Moderna’s injections more truthfully describe them as “gene therapy,” not vaccines.

Definition of ‘Vaccine’

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,1 a vaccine is “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease.” Immunity, in turn, is defined as “Protection from an infectious disease,” meaning that “If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.”

Neither Moderna nor Pfizer claim this to be the case for their COVID-19 “vaccines.” In fact, in their clinical trials, they specify that they will not even test for immunity.

Unlike real vaccines, which use an antigen of the disease you’re trying to prevent, the COVID-19 injections contain synthetic RNA fragments encapsulated in a nanolipid carrier compound, the sole purpose of which is to lessen clinical symptoms associated with the S-1 spike protein, not the actual virus.

They do not actually impart immunity or inhibit transmissibility of the disease. In other words, they are not designed to keep you from getting sick with SARS-CoV-2; they only are supposed to lessen your infection symptoms if or when you do get infected.

As such, these products do not meet the legal or medical definition of a vaccine, and as noted by David Martin, Ph.D., in the video above, “The legal ramifications of this deception are immense.”

15 U.S. Code Section 41

As explained by Martin, 15 U.S. Code Section 41 of the Federal Trade Commission Act2 is the law that governs advertising of medical practices. This law, which dictates what you may and may not do in terms of promotion, has for many years been routinely used to shut down alternative health practitioners and companies.

“If this law can be used to shut down people of good will, who are trying to help others,” Martin says, “it certainly should be equally applied when we know deceptive medical practices are being done in the name of public health.”

Per this law, it is unlawful to advertise:

“… that a product or service can prevent, treat, or cure human disease unless you possess competent and reliable scientific evidence, including, when appropriate, well-controlled human clinical studies, substantiating that the claims are true at the time they are made.”3

What Constitutes ‘The Greater Good’?

Martin points to the 1905 Supreme Court ruling in Jacobson vs. Massachusetts,4 which essentially established that collective benefit supersedes individual benefit. To put it bluntly, it argued that it’s acceptable for individuals to be harmed by public health directives provided it benefits the collective.

Now, if vaccination is a public health measure that is supposed to protect and benefit the collective, then it would need to a) ensure that the individual who is vaccinated is rendered immune from the disease in question; and b) that the vaccine inhibits transmission of the disease.

Only if these two outcomes can be scientifically proven can you say that vaccination protects and benefits the collective — the population as a whole. This is where we run into problems with the mRNA “vaccines.”

Moderna’s SEC filings, which Martin claims to have carefully reviewed, specifies and stresses that its technology is a “gene therapy technology.” Originally, its technology was set up to be a cancer treatment, so more specifically, it’s a chemotherapy gene therapy technology.

As noted by Martin, who would raise their hand to receive prophylactic chemotherapy gene therapy for a cancer you do not have and may never be at risk for? In all likelihood, few would jump at such an offer, and for good reason.

Moreover, states and employers would not be able to mandate individuals to receive chemotherapy gene therapy for a cancer they do not have. It simply would not be legal. Yet, they’re proposing that all of humanity be forced to get gene therapy for COVID-19.

COVID-19 Vaccines — A Case of False Advertising

Now, if the COVID-19 vaccine really isn’t a vaccine, why are they calling it that? While the CDC provides a definition of “vaccine,” the CDC is not the actual law. It’s an agency empowered by the law, but it does not create law itself. Interestingly enough, it’s more difficult to find a legal definition of “vaccine,” but there have been a few cases. Martin provides the following examples:

•Iowa code — “Vaccine means a specially prepared antigen administered to a person for the purpose of providing immunity.” Again, the COVID-19 vaccines make no claim of providing immunity. They are only designed to lessen symptoms if and when you get infected.

•Washington state code — “Vaccine means a preparation of a killed or attenuated living microorganism, or fraction thereof …” Since Moderna and Pfizer are using synthetic RNA, they clearly do not meet this definition.

Being a manmade synthetic, the RNA used is not derived from anything that has at one point been alive, be it a whole microorganism or a fraction thereof. The statute continues to specify that a vaccine “upon immunization stimulates immunity that protects us against disease …”

So, in summary, “vaccine” and “immunity” are well-defined terms that do not match the end points specified in COVID-19 vaccine trials. The primary end point in these trials is: “Prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 disease.” Is that the same as “immunity”? No, it is not.

There Are More Problems Than One

But there’s another problem. Martin points out that “COVID-19 disease” has been defined as a series of clinical symptoms. Moreover, there’s no causal link between SARS-CoV-2, the virus, and the set of symptoms known as COVID-19.

How is that, you might ask? It’s simple, really. Since a vast majority of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 have no symptoms at all, they’ve not been able to establish a causal link between the virus and the clinical disease.

Here’s yet another problem: The primary end point in the COVID-19 vaccine trials is not an actual vaccine trial end point because, again, vaccine trial end points have to do with immunity and transmission reduction. Neither of those were measured.

What’s more, key secondary end points in Moderna’s trial include “Prevention of severe COVID-19 disease, and prevention of infection by SARS-CoV-2.” However, by its own admission, Moderna did not actually measure infection, stating that it was too “impractical” to do so.

That means there’s no evidence of this gene therapy having an impact on infection, for better or worse. And, if you have no evidence, you cannot fulfill the U.S. Code requirement that states you must have “competent and reliable scientific evidence … substantiating that the claims are true.”

Why Are They Calling Them Vaccines?

As noted by Martin, you cannot have a vaccine that does not meet a single definition of a vaccine. So, again, what would motivate these companies, U.S. health agencies and public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci to lie and claim that these gene therapies are in fact vaccines when, clearly, they are not?

If they actually called it what it is, namely “gene therapy chemotherapy,” most people would — wisely — refuse to take it. Perhaps that’s one reason for their false categorization as vaccines. But there may be other reasons as well.

Here, Martin strays into conjecture, as we have no proof of their intentions. He speculates that the reason they’re calling this experimental gene therapy technology a “vaccine” is because by doing so, they can circumvent liability for damages.

You’re being lied to. Your own government is violating its own laws. They have shut down practitioners around the country, time and time again, for violating what are called ‘deceptive practices in medical claims.’ Guess what? They’re doing exactly that thing. ~ David Martin, Ph.D.

As long as the U.S. is under a state of emergency, things like PCR tests and COVID-19 “vaccines” are allowed under emergency use authorization. And as long as the emergency use authorization is in effect, the makers of these experimental gene therapies are not financially liable for any harm that comes from their use.

That is, provided they’re “vaccines.” If these injections are NOT vaccines, then the liability shield falls away, because there is no liability shield for a medical emergency countermeasure that is gene therapy.

So, by maintaining the illusion that COVID-19 is a state of emergency, when in reality it is not, government leaders are providing cover for these gene therapy companies so that they can get immunity from liability.

Under the Cover of ‘Emergency’

As noted by Martin, if state governors were to lift the state of emergency, all of a sudden the use of RT PCR testing would be in violation of 15 U.S. Code FTC Act, as PCR tests are not an approved diagnostic test.

“You cannot diagnose a thing [with something] that cannot diagnose a thing,” Martin says. “That a misrepresentation. That is a deceptive practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. And they’re liable for deceptive practices.”

Importantly, there’s no waiver of liability under deceptive practices — even under a state of emergency. This would also apply to experimental gene therapies. The only way for these gene therapies to enjoy liability shielding is if they are vaccines developed in response to a public health emergency. There is no such thing as immunity from liability for gene therapies.

Propaganda and Vaccine Rollout Run by Same Company

Martin brings up yet another curious point. The middleman in Operation Warp Speed is a North Carolina defense contractor called ATI. It controls the rollout of the vaccine. But ATI also has another type of contract with the Department of Defense, namely managing propaganda and combating misinformation.

So, the same company in charge of manipulating the media to propagate government propaganda and censor counterviews is the same company in charge of the rollout of “vaccines” that are being unlawfully promoted.

“Listen,” Martin says. “This is a pretty straight-forward situation. You’re being lied to. Your own government is violating its own laws … They have thrown this book [15 U.S. Code Section 41] on more people than we can count.

They have shut down practitioners around the country, time and time again, for violating what are called ‘deceptive practices in medical claims’ … Guess what? They’re doing exactly that thing.”

Martin urges listeners to forward his video to your state attorney, governor, representatives and anyone else that might be in a position to take affirmative action to address and correct this fraud.

Defense contractors are violating FTC law, and gene therapy companies — not vaccine manufacturers — are conducting experimental trials under deceptive medical practices. They’re making claims of being “vaccines” without clinical proof, and must be held accountable for their deceptive marketing and medical practices.

CDC Owns Coronavirus Patents

On a side note, the CDC appears to be neck-deep in this scam pandemic, and is therefore wholly unsuitable to investigate the side effects of these experimental COVID-19 therapies. As noted by Martin, it’s like having a bank robber investigate its own crime.

Details about this came out in the documentary “Plandemic,” in which Martin explained how the CDC has broken the law — in one way or another — related to its patenting of the 2003 SARS virus.

Martin is a national intelligence analyst and founder of IQ100 Index, which developed linguistic genomics, a platform capable of determining the intent of communications. In 1999, IBM digitized 1 million U.S. patents, which allowed Martin’s company to conduct a review of all these patents, sending him down a proverbial “rabbit trail” of corruption.

In 2003, Asia experienced an outbreak of SARS. Almost immediately, scientists began racing to patent the virus. Ultimately, the CDC nabbed ownership of SARS-CoV (the virus responsible for SARS) isolated from humans.

So, the CDC actually owns the entire genetic content of that SARS virus. It’s patented under U.S. patent 7776521. They also own patents for detection methods, and for a kit to measure the virus.

U.S. patent 7279327,5 filed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, describes methods for producing recombinant coronaviruses. Ralph Baric, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology and immunology who is famous for his chimeric coronavirus research, is listed as one of the three inventors, along with Kristopher Curtis and Boyd Yount.

According to Martin, Fauci, Baric and the CDC “are at the hub” of the whole COVID-19 story. “In 2002, coronaviruses were recognized as an exploitable mechanism for both good and ill,” Martin says, and “Between 2003 and 2017, they [Fauci, Baric and CDC] controlled 100% of the cash flow to build the empire around the industrial complex of coronavirus.”

How the CDC Broke the Law

The key take-home message Martin delivers in “Plandemic” is that there’s a distinct problem with the CDC’s patent on SARS-CoV isolated from humans, because, by law, naturally occurring DNA segments are prohibited from being patented.

The law clearly states that such segments are “not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated.” So, either SARS-CoV was manmade, which would render the patent legal, or it’s natural, thus rendering the patent on it illegal.

However, if the virus was manufactured, then it was created in violation of biological weapons treaties and laws. This includes the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed into law by George Bush Sr., which states:6

“Whoever knowingly develops, produces, stockpiles, transfers, acquires, retains, or possesses any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon, or knowingly assists a foreign state or any organization to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both. There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section committed by or against a national of the United States.”

So, as noted by Martin in the documentary, regardless of which scenario turns out to be true, the CDC has broken the law one way or another, either by violating biological weapons laws, or by filing an illegal patent. Even more egregious, May 14, 2007, the CDC filed a petition with the patent office to keep their coronavirus patent confidential.

Now, because the CDC owns the patent on SARS-CoV, it has control over who has the ability to make inquiries into the coronavirus. Unless authorized, you cannot look at the virus, you cannot measure it or make tests for it, since they own the entire genome and all the rest.

“By obtaining the patents that restrained anyone from using it, they had the means, the motive, and most of all, they had the monetary gain from turning coronavirus from a pathogen to a profit,” Martin says.

Dangers of mRNA Gene Therapy

I’ve written many articles detailing the potential and expected side effects of these gene therapy “vaccines.” If all of this is new to you, consider reviewing “How COVID-19 Vaccine Can Destroy Your Immune System,” “Seniors Dying After COVID Vaccine Labeled as Natural Causes” and “Side Effects and Data Gaps Raise Questions on COVID Vaccine.”

In the lecture above, Dr. Simone Gold — founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, which has been trying to counter the false narrative surrounding hydroxychloroquine — reviews the dangers discovered during previous coronavirus vaccine trials, and the hazards of current mRNA gene therapies, including antibody-dependent immune enhancement.

Antibody-dependent immune enhancement results in more severe disease when you’re exposed to the wild virus, and increases your risk of death. The synthetic RNA and the nanolipid its encased in may also have other, more direct side effects. As explained by Mikovits in our recent interview:

“Normally, messenger RNA is not free in your body because it’s a danger signal. The central dogma of molecular biology is that our genetic code, DNA, is transcribed, written, into the messenger RNA. That messenger RNA is translated into protein, or used in a regulatory capacity … to regulate gene expression in cells.

So, taking a synthetic messenger RNA and making it thermostable — making it not break down — [is problematic]. We have lots of enzymes (RNAses and DNAses) that degrade free RNA and DNA because, again, those are danger signals to your immune system. They literally drive inflammatory diseases.

Now you’ve got PEG, PEGylated and polyethylene glycol, and a lipid nanoparticle that will allow it to enter every cell of the body and change the regulation of our own genes with this synthetic RNA, part of which actually is the message for the gene syncytin …

Syncytin is the endogenous gammaretrovirus envelope that’s encoded in the human genome … We know that if syncytin … is expressed aberrantly in the body, for instance in the brain, which these lipid nanoparticles will go into, then you’ve got multiple sclerosis.

The expression of that gene alone enrages microglia — literally inflames and dysregulates the communication between the brain microglia — which are critical for clearing toxins and pathogens in the brain and the communication with astrocytes.

It dysregulates not only the immune system, but also the endocannabinoid system, which is the dimmer switch on inflammation. We’ve already seen multiple sclerosis as an adverse event in the clinical trials … We also see myalgic encephalomyelitis. Inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord …”

Making matters worse, the synthetic mRNA also has an HIV envelope expressed in it, which can cause immune dysregulation. As we discussed in previous interviews, SARS-CoV-2 has been engineered in the lab with gain-of-function research that included introducing the HIV envelope into the spike protein.

Are You in a High-Risk Group for Side Effects?

Mikovits’ hypothesis is that those who are most susceptible to severe neurological side effects and death from the COVID-19 vaccines are those who have previously been injected with XMRVs, borrelia, babesia or mycoplasma through contaminated vaccines, resulting in chronic disease, as well as anyone with an inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease or chronic Lyme disease, for example, and anyone with an acquired immune deficiency from any pathogens and environmental toxins.

The chart below lists 35 diseases that are likely to render you more susceptible to severe side effects or death from COVID-19 gene therapy injections.

Many of the symptoms now being reported are suggestive of neurological damage. They have severe dyskinesia (impairment of voluntary movement), ataxia (lack of muscle control) and intermittent or chronic seizures. Many cases detailed in personal videos on social media are quite shocking. According to Mikovits, these side effects are due to neuroinflammation, a dysregulated innate immune response, and/or a disrupted endocannabinoid system.

Another common side effect from the vaccine we’re seeing is allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock. A likely culprit in this is PEG (polyethylene glycol), which an estimated 70% of Americans are allergic to.

Experimental Gene Therapy Is a Bad Idea

Circling back to where we began, COVID-19 vaccines are not vaccines. They are experimental gene therapies that are falsely marketed as vaccines, likely to circumvent liability. World governments and global and national health organizations are all complicit in this illegal deception and must be held accountable.

Ask yourself the question Martin asked in his video: Would you agree to take an experimental chemotherapy gene therapy for a cancer you do not have? If the answer is no, then why would you even consider lining up for an experimental gene therapy for COVID-19 — a set of clinical symptoms that haven’t even been causally linked to SARS-CoV-2?

These injections are not vaccines. They do not prevent infection, they do not render you immune, and they do not prevent transmission of the disease. Instead, they alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch. What’s happening here is a medical fraud of unprecedented magnitude, and it really needs to be stopped before it’s too late for a majority of people.

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The C-123 Veterans Association is an informal organization of approximately 1,600 members of the United States Air Force Reserve who, after the end of the Vietnam War, flew C-123 aircraft that had been used to spray Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam. Numerous toxicology studies have been conducted on the aircraft since 1979 which demonstrate that the aircraft were contaminated with dioxin, an extremely toxic compound contained in military herbicides. In 2015, a study commissioned by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) confirmed that exposure to dioxin put these reservists at increased risk of numerous diseases and disabilities.

Before the study, VA had resisted recognizing that post-war C-123 aircraft personnel were, like Vietnam Veterans, exposed to dioxin. Now that the study has left little doubt as to these reservists’ exposure, VA is contending that it lacks the legal authority to compensate those reservists who were exposed and now suffer diseases that by law are presumed to be connected with Agent Orange.

VA’s assertion is incorrect—it has authority under existing law to provide benefits to these injured reservists, many of whom have waited for years while suffering from terrible diseases and disabilities. In the spring of 2015, students in the clinic prepared memoranda on behalf of the C-123 Veterans Association and Vietnam Veterans of America explaining why VA has the legal authority to compensate these reservists. Punting this problem to Congress is unnecessary and unjust for this group of reservists, many who are very ill and elderly and cannot afford to wait.

Letter – the Active Military Status of C-123 Reservists (April 13, 2015)

Memorandum – VA authority under existing statutes (April 16, 2015)

Prior to the 2015 study, students in the clinic had prepared a statement connecting existing medical evidence to the VA regulatory standards for illnesses associated with Agent Orange on behalf of the members of the Association. That memo can be found here.

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TEXARKANA, Texas – A Coronado, California, man has been found guilty of federal violations related to a health care kickback scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. attorney Brit Featherston today.

Vincent Marchetti, Jr., 57, was found guilty by a jury following a month-long trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III.

“Fraud on our health care system cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “The defendant convicted today, and the others prosecuted in this large conspiracy, will suffer their fate at the hands of our excellent justice system. All should know that an investigation and prosecution such as this takes thousands of hours of work by law enforcement and prosecutors. My hat goes off to them for their excellent work to protect the citizens of our communities.”

“Kickback schemes victimize patients seeking legitimate care and line the pockets of criminals who pay or receive them,” said Miranda L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Dallas Region. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of federal health care programs by exposing these harmful schemes and holding fraudsters accountable.”

“The defendant intentionally deceived the health care system to receive unlawful benefits and payments. Health care fraud causes billions of dollars in damages a year and affects patients by raising their premiums and taxes,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “The FBI will continue working alongside our public and private sector partners to pursue individuals who attempt to profit off of patients and insurance holders.”

“Those involved in kickback schemes and fraudulent business enterprises will eventually face justice no matter where they operate,” said Christopher Miller, acting Special Agent in Charge, HSI Dallas. “We remain relentless in our pursuit of those who violate the law through fraudulent practices for personal gain.”

According to information presented in court, Marchetti conspired with others to pay and receive kickbacks in exchange for the referral of, and arranging for, health care business, specifically pharmacogenetic (PGx) tests. Pharmacogenetic testing, also known as pharmacogenomic testing, is a type of genetic testing that identifies genetic variations that affect how an individual patient metabolizes certain drugs. The illegal arrangement concerned the referral of PGx tests to clinical laboratories in Fountain Valley, California; Irvine, California; and San Diego, California. More than $28 million in illegal kickback payments were exchanged by those involved in the conspiracy.

In December 2019, twelve individuals from three states were charged for their roles in the kickback conspiracy. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas returned an indictment against Philip Lamb, 46, of Scottsdale, Arizona; Nicolas Arroyo, 40, of Tempe, Arizona; Vincent Marchetti, Jr.; William Flowers, 56, of Houston; Steven Donofrio; James J. Walker, Jr. a/k/a Jimmy Walker, 47, of Frisco; Timothy Armstrong, 64, of Frisco; Virginia Blake Herrin, 56, of Frisco; Patrick Ridgeway, 52, of Jackson, Mississippi; Chismere Mallard, 41, of McAllen; Dr. Ray W. Ng; and Ashley Kretzschmar, 36, of Aledo; for conspiring to commit illegal remunerations in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Philip Lamb, Nicolas Arroyo, Jimmy Walker, Virginia Blake Herrin, Patrick Ridgeway, Chismere Mallard, and Ashley Kretzschmar pleaded guilty prior to trial.

Kimberly Willette, 59, of Friendswood, and Edwin Chad Isbell, 48, of McKinney, also pleaded guilty to related charges.

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remunerations in exchange for the referral of or arranging for or recommending the ordering of items or services payable under federal health care programs. Under federal statutes, violations of the Anti-Kickback statute are punishable by up to five years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the FBI Dallas – Frisco Resident Agency, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld, Lucas Machicek, Adrian Garcia, Brent Andrus, and L. Frank Coan, Jr., with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan E. Oestreicher, Jr., and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel E.P. Simmons.

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“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards,” opined President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903.

It’s safe to say that Roosevelt would be appalled, as are we, by the recently announced plan to shutter the Barstow Veterans Home.

In his latest budget revision, which reflects a deficit brought on by COVID-19 and by the state’s stay-at-home order, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes closing one of the state’s finest and most useful facilities, an idea so detached from reality that it would actually increase costs, while displacing nearly 200 Veterans — many with serious medical conditions — and add 200 of the facility’s workers to the already overwhelmed unemployment line.

As your elected representatives, we strongly oppose this closure and will do everything in our power to fight it.

The Barstow Veterans Home was built to serve Veterans in a location central to many military installations: Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. These bases, along with former military installations like George Air Force Base in Victorville and Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, have led to a high concentration of retired military Veterans in our region.

This circumstance prompted then-Congressman Jerry Lewis and a bipartisan coalition of local elected officials to push for the creation of the Barstow Veterans Home, which opened in 1996 and has since served these vulnerable communities under the operation of the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet).

The proposed closure will not help the state’s budget shortfall.

While Newsom’s May budget revision suggests that closure of this facility will save $400,000 in this fiscal year and $2.6 million over the next fiscal year, unless every resident of the home is relocated to other CalVet Veterans homes — an impossible task due to space limitations and distances from families — the state will lose up to $3 million annually in federal funds that support these Barstow Veterans.

To put this “savings” into perspective, despite the budget deficit, Gov. Newsom has retained $2.8 billion for the failed High-Speed Rail Authority in his budget revision, which could fund all eight CalVet-operated homes six times over.

In his State of the State address last year, the governor said this same high-speed rail project “cost[s] too much.” Rather than cutting services for our most vulnerable, this sounds like the perfect area to find savings.

Although CalVet has promised to relocate the Veterans currently residing at Barstow, the nearest Veterans home is located in Lancaster, which is an hour and a half away, and the West Los Angeles Veterans home is even further. CalVet cannot guarantee sufficient space in these two homes. At best, our elderly Veterans will be forced to choose between staying close to nearby family, in living situations heretofore unknown, or being relocated to Veterans homes hours away.

Veterans are not a line item in a budget. They are human beings and, in this case, the bravest and most honorable among us. The Barstow Veterans Home represents our commitment to those who have served our country. Many of its residents bear physical and mental scars from their service in defense of our nation. Our county, state and nation owe a debt to the men and women who serve our country, and the presence of the Barstow Veterans Home is a small down payment on that debt. We strongly urge Gov. Newsom and the California Legislature to remember true sacrifice — that of our Veterans living in the Barstow Veterans Home — and reconsider this proposed closure immediately.

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BOSTON – A California woman was sentenced yesterday for her role in a multi-million-dollar Medicare fraud scheme.

Stefanie Hirsch, 51, of Los Angeles, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years of probation. Hirsch was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. On Feb. 24, 2021, Hirsch pleaded guilty to violating the HIPAA statute.

Hirsch sold access to a Medicare eligibility tool that allowed Juan C. Perez Buitrago and Nathan LaParl to improperly access patients’ detailed personal, demographic, medical and insurance information. Hirsch owned EI Medical, Inc., a Medicare-enrolled wheelchair and scooter repair company that qualified for access to a health care clearinghouse that contains Medicare patients’ personal, medical and insurance information. Hirsch improperly gave Perez Buitrago and LaParl access to that clearinghouse and charged them about $0.25 per patient eligibility check. Using Hirsch’s credentials, LaParl accessed the personal and medical data of more than 350,000 patients and Perez Buitrago’s credentials were used for 150,000 patients.

Perez Buitrago and LaParl pleaded guilty to federal health care crimes in October 2020 and January 2021, respectively.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Johnnie Sharp Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Boston Division; and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

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Will you be his Valentine?

A 104-year-old World War II Veteran hopes to receive plenty of Valentine’s Day cards this year, to add to his collection of keepsakes documenting his own incredible life and times.

Maj. Bill White served in the Marine Corps during World War II and survived the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, Fox 40 reports. One of White’s most cherished medals is his Purple Heart, which is awarded to those who were wounded or killed in action.

“The fact that I even survived is something. There weren’t too many of us,” White recalled.

White was near the front lines of the battle on March 3, 1945, when a grenade exploded about six inches from he and his fellow Marines, according to Fox 40.

The injuries he sustained took him off the battlefield, but White recovered and went on to enjoy a long military career.

“I spent 30 years active duty and 54 retired,” the centenarian said.

Today, the California native stays active at his assisted living facility in Stockton, Calif., dining with friends and working on his scrapbooks, a favorite hobby.

Along with his many medals, White keeps his scrapbooks organized on a bookshelf in his room, neatly sorted by year.

“It’s kept me busy just trying to locate or keep track of what's happened to me, where, when,” he explained.

This year, the spirited Veteran hopes to grow his collection of keepsakes with Valentine’s Day cards from friends old and new.

“I'll save every one of them like I've been saving little things that have come up until right now and they’ll be a personal part of my history,” he told Fox 40.

For those who hope to live as long and happily as White has, the centenarian advised folks to “just keep breathing.”

"I can't think of anything else. I can give you all sorts of ideas and suggestions but if you're not breathing, they don't mean anything,” he exclaimed.

Valentine’s Day cards for Maj. White can be sent to:

Operation Valentine

ATTN: Hold for Maj Bill White, USMC (Ret)

The Oaks at Inglewood

6725 Inglewood Ave.

Stockton, CA 95207

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As Californians once again begin to recover from catastrophic wildfires throughout the state, the California Department of Veterans Affairs stands ready to assist Veterans affected by the blazes.

Click here to visit CalVet’s wildfires page, which provides important information, including a list of Local Assistance Centers open in affected areas, links, and contacts for Veterans.

Veterans who suffer losses or damages (including smoke damage) due to fire can receive information regarding benefits by contacting one of the Local Interagency Network Coordinators (LINC) in the eight regions throughout the state. Click here for a listing and contact information for the LINC in each specific region.

Veterans with CalVet Homes Loans who evacuate or lose their home to fire may be eligible for temporary housing and expenses. If you are a property owner with a CalVet Home Loan with CalVet’s fire and hazard coverage and you experienced property loss or were required to evacuate your home, please contact our Claims Adjuster’s 24-hour hotline at (800) 626-1613. If you have questions about your homeowner insurance, please call the CalVet Home Protection Unit, Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (866) 421-6978.

Another resource is the local County Veterans Service Office (CVSO). Although many locations across the state are still closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, assistance is available through e-mail and by calling. Contact information for each CVSO is available online in the newly updated eighth edition of CalVet’s California Veterans Resource Book. Hard copies of the book will become available in November 2020.

Thus far, during the 2020 fire season, CAL FIRE reports that, throughout the state, 7,099 wild fires have burned more than 1.6 million acres, with seven confirmed deaths, and more than 2,400 structures damanged or destroyed. California’s fire season traditionally winds down after October, the month when five of California’s top 10 most destructive fires occurred; though the deadly Camp (Paradise) and Woolsey fires happened in November 2018.

Three fires in Northern California alone – the SCU Lightning Complex fire west of Patterson, the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Napa and Sonoma counties, and the CZU Lightning fire in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties – have combined to kill six people, injured nine people, burned more than 818,500 acres, and destroyed or damaged more than 1,900 homes and other structures.

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CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for his role today in a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funds using fraudulently procured electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Luciano Estevez, 51, previously pleaded guilty by teleconference before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

Formerly known as the Food Stamps program, SNAP is administered by the USDA to assist low-income individuals and families with the purchase of groceries and food items. SNAP recipients receive EBT cards, similar to commercial debit cards, to make food purchases. Retailers authorized to accept SNAP benefits have EBT terminals to process the food purchases. Food purchases are made by swiping the EBT card at the terminal, and having customers enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The EBT terminal verifies the PIN, determines whether the customer’s account balance is sufficient to cover the proposed transaction, and informs the retailer whether the transaction should be authorized or denied. The amount of the purchase is deducted electronically from the SNAP benefits reserved for the customer and the purchase amount is credited to the retailer’s designated bank account.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Estevez and others targeted low-income individuals who possessed or had access to EBT cards, and unlawfully purchased the cards from these individuals in exchange for cash and controlled substances. Two confidential sources working with law enforcement engaged in 43 controlled transactions involving EBT cards totaling more than $40,500, which they exchanged for cash and controlled substances, including prescription opioids.

The defendants used the unlawfully procured EBT cards to purchase bulk goods and food items from large national superstores. These goods and food items were then resold in small convenience and grocery stores owned or affiliated with the defendants or their associates, resulting in a profit for the defendants. Hundreds of EBT cards fraudulently procured by the defendants were used at these superstores, resulting in the misappropriation of approximately $150,000 in government funds.

Estevez also unlawfully procured an EBT terminal registered to a superstore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to use at his small grocery store in Camden, which was not registered as a lawful SNAP merchant in the USDA program. Through this terminal, the scheme netted approximately $110,000 in SNAP funds.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Estevez to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $155,091 in restitution.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; the FBI Philadelphia Field Office, South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll in Philadelphia; and the Camden County Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gabriel Rodriguez.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina O. Hud of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

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Study looks at participation in community activities

Social isolation and feelings of loneliness are associated with suicidal thoughts. Consequently, the more people feel disconnected from their friends, peers and colleagues, the more isolated they become.

One antidote for social isolation is social connectedness. That is, people coming together and interacting. But there’s been little research on suicide prevention programs that target social connectedness.

Dr. Jason Chen of the VA Portland Health Care System is leading a study to establish a stronger sense of social connectedness for Veterans at high risk of suicide. He’s doing this by increasing their participation in community activities.

Chen and his team have been identifying the community engagement needs and preferences of Veterans who have been hospitalized and evaluated for psychiatric conditions. Specifically, the team interviewed participants within a week of their discharge from an inpatient psychiatric unit. They discovered Veterans analyzed for psychiatric conditions, such as PTSD, are at much greater risk than other cohorts of taking their own lives within three months after leaving the hospital.

Social connection could decrease suicidal thoughts

“When working with Veterans, I noticed that many didn’t have social connections,” Chen says. “We know that feeling connected to others can be a form of protection against suicide. So I thought to myself, if the Veterans I work with don’t have many connections, perhaps we could help them create new connections through community activities. My hope is that by helping Veterans increase their engagement in community activities, they’ll feel a stronger sense of social connection that will, in turn, decrease their level of suicidal thoughts.

“The first part of our study was to learn more from Veterans about what gets in the way of connecting. For example, we interviewed 30 Veterans to learn about their past experiences connecting to the community and their thoughts about what would get in the way in the future. Our Veteran sample varied in age from their 20s through their 70s. The average age was 48. We wanted to understand a broad range of experiences across different eras of conflict and generations.”

Suicide prevention is VA’s top clinical priority

Eventually, Chen and his colleagues plan to create clinical toolkits for VA and community figures. The toolkits will focus on increasing social connectedness for Veterans in this vulnerable population.

VA considers suicide prevention its top clinical priority. The most updated analysis of Veteran suicide rates, issued in 2016, notes Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This compares with 22% in 2010.

Chen and his team have identified patterns of Veterans’ needs and preferences for social connectedness.

“Veterans appear to be interested in a broad range of activities,” he says. “However, they noted having difficulty knowing how to access these activities and how to make new social connections. Within our sample, Veterans have discussed needing more hands-on support for engaging in community activities. They generally value and believe these activities are important for their wellness and recovery. But they could use extra support for navigating logistics and interactions with new people. We plan for this support to come from a Veteran peer support specialist. That is a Veteran who has undergone his or her own mental health recovery and is now helping support other Veterans with their experiences.”

Working with communities

Researchers are partnering with communities to provide a broad range of activities tailored to the interests of Veterans who are at high risk for suicide. These activities include engaging with Veterans or non-Veterans in the Chinese martial art tai chi or outdoor activities, such as fly fishing or playing music.

“We do not have good evidence that any one type of activity is more protective than another,” Chen says. “They’re worthwhile as long as folks develop a sense of belonging and feel like they’re giving back to others.”

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Working & Receiving TDIU at The Same Time: Yes, It’s Possible

Many of the blogs on our website have discussed the concept of Total Disability Due to Individual Unemployability (TDIU) or IU, and the criteria for obtaining these VA disability benefits. As these blogs have hopefully made clear, there are many different ways to obtain IU benefits. One issue that frequently arises in this context is whether a Veteran who is working is able to obtain VA unemployability, also known as TDIU or IU. This may seem like an obvious “yes or no” answer. But of course, when you’re dealing with most legal issues and especially the Department of Veterans Affairs, there rarely is a clear cut “yes or no.” The best answer to this question is that it depends.

TDIU is not Social Security Disability

It is easy to equate the VA’s version of total disability with Social Security Administration’s version. The important thing to remember is that IU Veterans benefits is not structured in the same way as Social Security Disability (SSD). In many ways, the requirements to obtain IU benefits (being paid at the 100% rate) are more lenient than those of Social Security. In order to qualify for SSD, you must be found to be completely unable to work, under any conditions or circumstances. Typically, this finding is backed by the opinion of a vocational expert and/or a medical professional.

What does the VA consider for TDIU Claims?

If a Veteran is working and also filing a disability claim for VA unemployability, the VA will look at the Veteran’s earnings from the work. Specifically, the VA is looking to see if the Veteran is maintaining substantial gainful employment. The VA defines “gainful employment” as any earnings from work that are above the annual poverty level as determined by the Census Bureau. This means that by definition, work below the poverty threshold is not considered to be gainful employment. In fact, the VA defines work below the poverty threshold as “marginal” employment. The VA regulation further provides that even if annual income exceeds the poverty threshold, if the Veteran is working in a “sheltered” environment (protected work environment) or for a family business, he or she may still have eligibility for IU benefits. Now, let’s look at each of these situations individually.

Substantially Gainful Occupation – Working and VA Unemployability

Under VA regulations, however, the benchmark for IU claims is not whether or not the Veteran is capable of working; it is whether or not the Veteran can engage in substantially gainful occupation. According to the VA’s procedural manual, substantially gainful occupation refers to “an occupation that is ordinarily followed by the non-disabled with earnings common to the particular occupation in the community where the Veteran resides”. In other words, substantially gainful occupation is a job that a non-disabled person can perform, with earnings above the poverty threshold. For example, “substantially gainful” might include a job as an office clerk, a bookkeeper, a flight attendant, or a sales associate. A substantially gainful occupation would require the employee to be competent, efficient, and reliable.

This is important, because “substantially gainful” is not the standard that the regional office raters use. Instead, they tend to drift toward the Social Security mindset, where the Veteran has to prove that he or she is completely unable to work.

Marginal Employment

If a Veteran’s earnings are below the poverty level, that job cannot be considered substantially gainful. Instead, it is considered marginal employment. Marginal employment can also include employment in which the Veteran is making more than the poverty level, but is working in a sheltered environment, such as a workshop or family business. Under the regulations, if a Veteran is engaging in marginal employment, the RO cannot automatically deny a claim for IU on that basis.

Sheltered Employment

In its effort to be sympathetic toward Veterans, the government realizes that family members or friends might engage a Veteran in employment which accommodates his or her service-connected disabilities. For example, a family friend might hire a Veteran to assist with the payroll in his company, allowing the Veteran to work in a separate office, away from other coworkers, so as not to exacerbate his PTSD. As another example, the employer might allow the Veteran to take as much time off as needed when he has attacks of a migraine headache. The important thing to remember is that, in the VA’s definition of “sheltered employment,” there is no monetary cap on how much a Veteran can earn if he or she is employed in a sheltered environment. Therefore, a Veteran can be making above—even significantly beyond—the poverty level and still be eligible for IU. While this might not seem exactly fair, it must be remembered that these Veterans are being accommodated, and they would not be able to function as effectively in a competitive environment.

Oftentimes we find that the VA—and their medical experts—have a poor understanding of the concept of marginal employment when it comes to determining whether or not a Veteran can engage in substantially gainful occupation. Because this is where the ultimate question of whether or not you can go back to work comes into play. If you are working part-time to make ends meet, and your earnings are under the poverty level, the RO has no basis to deny your claim on that alone.

If you do decide to go back to work, and the RO denies your claim for IU, do not be disheartened. The regional offices often deny IU claims for even the very best of cases. Your best course of action is to appeal that decision. We have found that the Board of Veterans Appeals renders more favorable decisions in Individual Unemployability cases.

The Bottom Line on Working and VA Unemployability

So, what does all of this mean on a practical level? First, it means that VA law does allow for some Veterans who work to also receive VA unemployability benefits at the same time, depending on the circumstances. Second, it means that disabled Veterans who are working should not foreclose the thought of obtaining individual unemployability benefits based on erroneous information they may have received from others that they are not eligible for IU simply because they work.

In these cases, it is important for the earnings to be examined in order to assess if the Veteran is above or below the poverty threshold. A Veteran can produce substantive proof earnings through pay stubs, tax returns, employer letters, and/or a Social Security Earnings Record. If the earnings are above the poverty threshold, an evaluation needs to take place to determine if the Veteran is working in a “sheltered” environment. For example, if a Veteran is provided accommodations or leniencies by his or her employer on account of service-connected disabilities, such as excessive time off, the ability to leave work at will, etc., this may be a “sheltered” work situation. However, it goes without saying that the Veteran would have to have corroborating evidence to prove that the workplace is sheltered, for example, an employer letter verifying the excessive accommodations, etc.

The bottom line when it comes to IU is that Veterans and Veterans’ advocates have to know the VA’s rules on Veterans disability better than the VA does itself. The VA is not going to willingly concede that a working Veteran may be eligible for IU disability compensation.

To learn more, please review our VA Unemployability Guide.

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U.S. special operations forces who deployed to a military site in Uzbekistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks found pond water that glowed green, black goo oozing from the ground and signs warning “radiation hazard.”

Karshi-Khanabad, known as K2, was an old Soviet base leased by the United States from the Uzbek government just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks because it was a few hundred miles from al Qaeda and Taliban targets in northern Afghanistan.

The base became a critical hub in the early days of the war to provide airdrops, medical evacuation and airstrike support to U.S. ground forces in Afghanistan.

But K2 was contaminated with chemical weapons remnants, radioactive processed uranium and other hazards, according to documents obtained by McClatchy.

At least 61 of the men and women who served at K2 had been diagnosed with cancer or died from the disease, according to a 2015 Army study on the base. But that number may not include the special operations forces deployed to K2, who were likely not counted due to the secrecy of their missions, the study reported.

As part of McClatchy’s continued investigation into the rising rates of cancers among Veterans, members of those special operations forces units who were based at K2 are speaking out for the first time because of the difficulty they have faced in getting the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover their medical costs.

“After returning from combat years later, we are all coming down with various forms of cancer that the [Department of Veterans Affairs] is refusing to acknowledge,” said retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Welsch, a special operations military intelligence officer who deployed to K2 in October 2001. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014.

Some of those who served at K2 are about to submit a letter to Congress asking for help.

“Please come to our aid to assist us in dealing with these illnesses that have forever altered the courses of our lives and the lives of our families,” wrote retired Lt. Col. Omar Hamada, flight surgeon for the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, which went to K2 in 2002.

Hamada said nine of the unit’s approximately 50 soldiers who deployed to K2 have been diagnosed with cancer.

“BLACK GOO”

The Defense Department knew that K2 was toxic from the start, based on documents obtained by McClatchy that are being reported publicly for the first time.

After Uzbek workers who were preparing the grounds for arriving U.S. forces in October 2001 fell ill, U.S. Central Command directed an intelligence review of the hazards at the base.

“Ground contamination at Karshi-Khanabad Airfield poses health risks to U.S. forces deployed there,” said the classified report, dated Nov. 6, 2001, that was obtained by McClatchy.

That report found the “tent city” the military was building at K2 — including tents for sleeping, eating, showering and working — were “in some cases directly on top of soil that probably was contaminated” by four hazards.

First, there was a missile storage facility that had exploded in June 1993. “Ground contamination from the explosion, and subsequent expulsion of missile propellant throughout the area is very likely,” the report said.

Two other hazards listed were an abandoned fuel storage facility and an abandoned aircraft maintenance facility identified as the likely sources of the “black goo” which the report said “is most likely a combination of oils, hydraulic fluids, glues, paints, solvents and lubricants.”

The fourth hazard noted in the report was that the northeast corner of the tent city was likely affected by “runoff from a CW [chemical weapons] decontamination site” which had appeared on U.S. intelligence imagery in 1987.

A separate Army environmental health study of K2 in November 2001 found small areas of dirt contaminated with asbestos and “low level radioactive processed uranium, both from the destruction of Soviet missiles.”

As more personnel populated the base, it had to expand. Additional assessments were conducted, one found pools of solvents about 3 feet underground.

“Part of this area has already been fenced off by US forces as an expansion area,” a Nov. 15, 2001, document obtained by McClatchy said. “To call this site a landfill is an insult to landfills.”

The U.S. military jumped on using K2 because it had few other good options in the immediate response to 9/11, said former Army Reserve Capt. Ken Richards, who deployed to the base in 2002, and was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2009.

“There were a lot of good reasons to accept what they [the Uzbeks] gave us,” Richards said. “Safety was never an issue.”

“YOUR INQUIRY IS FALSE”

Years after their deployments, as K2 Veterans approached the Defense Department and the VA for help, they met a defense health establishment trained to doubt them.

“The most important messages to communicate are there were no K-2 exposures of health consequence,” instructs an undated three-page “Information for Health Care Staff” guide published by the Pentagon’s Deployment Health Clinical Center that was obtained by McClatchy.

“Some may believe they were exposed to dangerous chemicals and that they haven’t been told the truth,” the guide states. “Your reassurances may not lessen their level of concern.”

The guide emphasized that medical staff should show K2 Veterans respect for their service to the country, observing “It often helps rapport if you thank them for that service.”

The VA responded to a query by McClatchy on the number of cancers among the service members based at K2 with a statement saying, “the premise of your inquiry is false. There is no indication of increased cancer rates among Veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad, which is why cancer is not a presumptive condition for Veterans who served in that area.”

That phrase — “presumptive condition” — can mean the difference between the service member paying the bill for cancer treatments out of their own pocket or having the cost covered by the VA.

A presumptive condition is any medical issue that the VA has accepted as likely connected to a Veteran’s military service.

McClatchy interviewed 15 former members of Air Force and Army special operations forces who served at K2, six of whom were diagnosed with cancer, and reviewed more than a dozen documents about the conditions at the base. McClatchy also interviewed two widows whose husbands were deployed to K2 and have died of cancer.

“We were doing a great thing” at K2, said retired Air Force Tech Sgt. Jeff Frisby, who deployed there in October 2001 with the 16th Special Operations Wing. “But then you look back on it and you almost feel kind of betrayed that there may be something going wrong, and nobody wants to help with it.”

In 2009, Army Master Sgt. Jeff Skinner found that the secrecy of his mission had limited what documents he could get to the VA. He was 39 and fighting stage 4 brain cancer.

“The VA continues to deny my claims. I am desperate,” Skinner wrote. “All of my savings and my spouse’s 401K have been dissolved.”

Skinner had deployed to K2 in 2002 with the 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group and was asking the Army to release classified documents to the VA about his service at the Uzbek base.

Army special operations command got involved, and Skinner’s appeal was finally approved, said his widow Missy Skinner. But when she looked through his paperwork to see what changed the agency’s mind, she could not find anything that cited his deployment.

“Nothing about K2,” she said.

Skinner died in April 2017. He was 47.

A FISHBOWL

By 2002, the Defense Department reported that K2’s contamination issues had been addressed by new soil and gravel overlays, caps on suspected vapor areas, and fencing.

“The contaminated area was covered with clean fill in November 2001, fenced and marked off-limits. It was determined that the uranium posed minimal health risk. The radiation hazard from this material is low,” a 2002 health assessment reported.

Veterans say their experiences on the ground do not mesh with that assessment.

“There was no warning for us. We just went in and we just dug,” said retired Master Sgt. Kliengsak Nimpchaimanatham. He flew into K2 about three weeks after 9/11 with the Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing, 16th Civil Engineering Squadron.

Nimpchaimanatham’s team was tasked with digging deep trenches to set up the base’s water lines. They dug 8 feet down, sometimes with backhoes, sometimes by hand shovel.

“It was hard to breathe,” Nimpchaimanatham said. “It was kind of like being in [a] room with gas fumes.”

The squadron was not wearing protective gear, he said.

“There was no heads up of, ‘Hey guys, this is an area — there’s a lot of contamination in here. Be sure to wear protective gear.’”

More dirt was disturbed to build a berm, a 20-foot dirt wall that protected the base. But it created what Veterans described as a “fishbowl” around the tents.

“So when it rained, it flooded,” said retired Senior Master Sgt. Carmen Bellard, who deployed to K2 as a loadmaster for the 711th Special Operations Squadron in 2002.

Water pushed into the tents ankle-deep and often had an oily, multi-colored sheen, K2 Veterans told McClatchy and provided photos of the water surrounding their tents. Gravel and new soil added to alleviate the flooding became mud.

In November 2001, former Air Force Tech Sgt. Jason Massey was asked to help dig a trench around his operations tent, to keep the floodwater out and protect the electronics inside.

“There was a clank,” said Massey, who arrived at K2 in October 2001 as a special operations intelligence analyst.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians who specialize in disposing of bombs were called in. The men had dug down to a 250-pound buried explosive.

“RADIATION HAZARD”

Eventually warning signs were erected. Outside the berm, a new bright yellow sign went up with black and red letters that said: “Danger Keep Out. Chemical Weapons.”

Another black and white sign — “Danger. Off Limits. Radiation Hazard.” — was in front of a row of ponds nicknamed “Skittles” after the candy because the water glowed bright green but often had other colors too. The ponds were located just outside the berm.

As the base grew, briefings for new arrivals included a caution about the ponds and an assurance that the berm would protect them.

“I remember raising my hand and going, ‘Since when does dirt stop radiation?’” said former Master Sgt. John Kiser, who deployed to K2 with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.

The Veterans also remember warnings by detector tubes and Geiger counters for chemical or radioactive threats.

Former Master Sgt. Raymond Towner said he was watching TV in an old aircraft hangar in June 2002 “when two guys in white hazardous contamination suits walked in and told everybody to get out.” Towner served as an aerospace ground equipment mechanic at K2.

Later, base leadership told them it was a false positive, Towner said. “They briefed us, ‘look, you can go back in there,’” he said, but nobody moved back in.

Towner, 47, has a brain cyst, had cancerous lymph nodes removed from his neck, and lost half of his tongue to cancer.

“It seemed like every time something was raised, it was ‘Oh, we have an explanation for that,’” said former Senior Master Sgt. Tony Harris, who deployed to K2 in 2002 as a maintainer with the 919th Special Operations Wing.

CONCERNED DOCTORS

Military doctors started raising concerns about the number of personnel who served at K2 being diagnosed with cancer.

A 20th Special Forces Group battalion surgeon, Lt. Col. Frank DeAngelo, wrote the VA on Skinner’s behalf in 2009, asking them to look deeper. DeAngelo had learned of three brain cancer cases of service members who were at K2.

“If one uses an annual incidence rate of 1 per 16,000 cases of primary brain malignancy diagnosed in the U.S. population, these cases diagnosed in former K2 personnel become extremely suspicious,” DeAngelo wrote in a 2009 letter to the VA.

In 2015, the Army published an in-depth look at illnesses reported at the base, prompted by a number of U.S. Army Special Operations Command forces at K2 who had developed various types of cancer.

Despite the Army Special Operations Command requesting the review, “special operations forces personnel could not be identified,” the study reported. It was “likely” that the roster of 7,005 U.S. service members who served at K2 did not count them or their cancers.

Still, among the conventional forces at the base, the study found 11 reported cancers among service members who were 25 years old or younger when they were stationed at K2, including one brain cancer. There were 50 cancers reported among service members who were older than 25 during their deployment, including four brain cancers. The study cautioned that there may be other factors besides serving at K2 connected to the cancers.

“These findings may motivate further investigation,” the report said.

VA was provided a copy of the study and responded that it did not change their position.

“The 2015 report you reference is inconclusive and the limitations section (1.3) says as much,” VA spokeswoman Susan Carter said. “It states, ‘the results of this investigation should be considered preliminary.’”

Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that between 2001 and 2005, when K2 was used by U.S. forces, “military public health personnel collected and assessed thousands of occupational and environmental health samples to monitor the health risks to our personnel.”

Those measurements found that long-term exposure could lead to developing some lung and heart conditions, but “we did not find any evidence that there were hazards capable of increasing the cancer risks faced by our service members,” he said.

While the VA would decide if any additional illnesses should be added as presumptive conditions for K2, “we would support the continued monitoring of Veterans health status,” Hoffman said.

DEPLETED URANIUM

The VA also provided a fact sheet on K2 that said “long-term adverse health effects would not be expected from depleted uranium contamination based on site assessments and the proper use of protective measures by personnel.”

That angers K2 Veterans who remember how the Defense Department moved the soil to create the berm, which exposed layers of contaminated soil that was then further dispersed by floods and wind, and during the winter months just became a muddy muck that stuck to everything.

“I never would have had depleted uranium in my system if I hadn’t gone to K2,” Bellard said.

She had chronic fatigue, headaches, respiratory issues and muscle twitches after her deployment and began looking for a cause. A VA-conducted urine test detected depleted uranium, but the amounts were too low to “have any health consequences related to it,” the agency notified her in June 2018.

Massey, who dug up the 250-pound explosive, had to leave the military just before he would have qualified for retirement benefits because of debilitating chronic migraines and other illnesses. He is now seeking additional medical care from the VA because he keeps collapsing without warning.

More than 1,100 K2 Veterans and a few of the surviving spouses have joined a Facebook group, “K2 Karshi Khanabad, Uzbekistan Radiation and Toxic Exposures.”

The site was started in 2012 by retired Master Sgt. Paul Widener, who served at K2 for multiple deployments starting in late 2001 with the Air Force’s 8th Special Operations Squadron.

He started the Facebook group to help Air Force Veteran Tech Sgt. Mike West connect with other K2 Veterans. West, who served with the 9th Special Operations Squadron, was seeking help in finding evidence to file a claim with the VA. West was diagnosed in 2010 with colon cancer, he died in 2013.

The Facebook site has become a critical resource for the Veterans, where they post requests for help after VA denials and access a library of photos and documents they can use to file appeals to the agency.

There are notices from families and final posts from members who are in the last stages of their cancer fight and have decided to enter hospice care.

“There is nothing more to do as far as treatment goes (last line of chemo). The tumors on the pancreas and liver are getting bigger, not smaller,” retired Air Force Col. John Partain wrote in April 2019. He had deployed to K2 in 2002 with the 711th Special Operations Squadron.

Partain, 59, was entering hospice care. He wanted to file new paperwork to the VA, because his initial claim had been denied. He was trying to get the VA to recognize his cancer as service connected so that his wife, Claire, and their kids would receive retroactive disability compensation payments after he passed away.

“He brought up the VA, and how it was time to hire an attorney,” Claire Partain said. “I asked him, ‘Is this really how you’d like to spend the rest of your life?’”

John Partain decided to let it go. He died in September.

“You shouldn’t have to spend your final days fighting for this,” Claire Partain said.

Widener, who set up the Facebook site, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007. He has been helping care for retired fellow 8th Special Operations Squadron Lt. Col. Rich Riddle, another K2 Veteran, who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Widener continues to be contacted by K2 Veterans who don’t want to be on Facebook, but want him to know they are also ill.

“I don’t go to the funerals anymore,” Widener said. “It got to the point where there were just too many.”

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All the money raised from the event went to Mission 22 to help Veterans with PTSD

BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – A car cruise to raise awareness about Veteran suicide was held in Boardman Saturday.

The event was held by Mission 22, a group that helps with this issue.

All the money raised from the event went to Mission 22 to help Veterans with PTSD.

The organizer of Saturday’s event, Joshua Moyer, says he wants more people to be made aware of the issue, not just because it’s important, but because one of his closest friends was a Veteran who committed suicide.

“Someone called me and told me what had happened, and it was a devastating feeling, and I want no one to ever have that phone call. That is the worst phone call to ever have,” Moyer said.

Mission 22 also helps with Veterans who are suffering with things such as substance abuse.

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PHILADELPHIA – BioTelemetry, Inc. and its subsidiary CardioNet, LLC, both headquartered in Pennsylvania (collectively, “BioTelemetry”), have agreed to pay $44,875,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to Medicare, TRICARE, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program for heart monitoring tests that were performed, in part, outside the United States, and in many cases by technicians who were not qualified to perform such tests.

The United States alleged that BioTelemetry and CardioNet improperly billed Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for certain cardiac monitoring services – including Holter, event monitoring, and mobile cardiovascular telemetry (MCT) tests – that were performed overseas in violation of federal law that prohibits payment for services furnished outside the United States. More specifically, the government alleged that in 2013, CardioNet contracted with a company located in India for the provision of diagnostic and analysis services of heart monitoring data. Although BioTelemetry set up a workflow that was designed to route electrocardiogram data, including data relating to cardiac events (“ECG Data”) for certain federal payer patients to a domestic independent diagnostic testing facility for review and analysis, the government alleged that BioTelemetry—with the knowledge of then senior management—diverted certain federal beneficiaries’ ECG Data to India when the domestic workflow became backlogged.   BioTelemetry also allegedly sent ECG data for other federal payer patients directly to India for review. In 2014, over 29% of the ECG Data reviewed in connection with MCT tests, and over 78% of the ECG Data reviewed in connection with event monitoring tests, for Medicare patients were allegedly reviewed by technicians located in India. In 2015, those numbers allegedly rose to over 47% and over 88%, respectively. Although BioTelemetry began implementing technological controls in late 2015 to prevent personnel in India from accessing the domestic workflow, those controls were insufficient, and technicians in India allegedly continued to review and analyze some ECG Data for federal healthcare program beneficiaries thereafter.

The United States further alleged that most of the offshore technicians tasked with reviewing ECG Data for federal healthcare program beneficiaries did not have the basic qualifications to perform the tests in question. Of the more than 450 India-based technicians who reviewed Medicare patients’ ECG Data in connection with MCT services that CardioNet billed to Medicare during the 2013 to 2018 period, the government alleged that fewer than 3% were certified by Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), the only recognized credentialing body for such cardiovascular technicians.

“Federal healthcare beneficiaries deserve care, including remote cardiac monitoring, that complies with federal law and is provided by qualified clinical personnel,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement reminds all providers that they must observe those standards and reflects the Department’s commitment to pursue knowing violations of federal health care program requirements.”

“Providers must act within clear federal healthcare program boundaries to ensure that appropriate care is given to the beneficiaries of those programs,” said Jacqueline C. Romero, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “This office will continue to pursue cases where providers have failed to honor these rules, which were established to provide quality care to elderly citizens and military Veterans, among others.”

“Providers participating in federal health care programs are obligated to obey the laws meant to protect the integrity of those programs and the quality of care furnished to patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services. “With our law enforcement partners, our agency is extremely committed to investigating providers alleged of defying these requirements.”

“Protecting TRICARE, the healthcare system for military members and their dependents, is a top priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General,” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “The settlement agreement announced today demonstrates our ongoing commitment to work with our law enforcement partners, the Department of Justice, and the Defense Health Agency to investigate allegations of healthcare fraud.”

In connection with the settlement, BioTelemetry Inc. entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) that requires, among other things, the implementation of a risk assessment and internal review process designed to identify and address evolving compliance risks. The CIA also requires an independent review organization to annually assess the medical necessity and appropriateness of claims billed to Medicare.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by several relators who were former CardioNet employees. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Doe v. BioTelemetry, Inc., et al., No. No. 2:18-cv-01688-PD (E.D. Pa.). As part of today’s resolution, the whistleblowers will receive approximately $8.3 million.  

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section. Assistance was provided by HHS-OIG, the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General.      

The matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Gill and Erin Lindgren and Civil Division attorneys Amy Kossak and Jessica Sievert.

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BOSTON – Ohio-based pharmaceutical distributor, Cardinal Health, Inc., has agreed to pay $13,125,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying “upfront discounts” to its physician practice customers, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits pharmaceutical distributors from offering or paying any compensation to induce physicians to purchase drugs for use on Medicare patients. When a pharmaceutical distributor sells drugs to a physician practice for administration in an outpatient setting, the distributor may legally offer commercially available discounts to its customers under certain circumstances permitted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG). HHS-OIG has advised that upfront discount arrangements present significant kickback concerns unless they are tied to specific purchases and that distributors maintain appropriate controls to ensure that discounts are clawed back if the purchaser ultimately does not purchase enough product to earn the discount. According to facts that the company has acknowledged in the settlement agreement, Cardinal Health, Inc. failed to meet these requirements because the upfront discounts it provided to its customers were not attributable to identifiable sales or were purported rebates which Cardinal Health’s customers had not actually earned.

“Cardinal Health recruited new customers by offering and paying cash bonuses in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act. Kickback schemes, such as this one, have the potential to pervert clinical decision-making and are detrimental to our federal health care system and taxpayers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “We commend Cardinal Health for resolving this matter cooperatively.”

“Pharmaceutical distributors are expected to play by the rules and not engage in illegal arrangements,” said Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate kickback schemes that threaten the integrity of our federal health care system, no matter how those schemes are disguised.”

“Cardinal Health thought it hit upon a surefire moneymaker by paying kickbacks to doctors, which cost health benefit programs millions of dollars in potentially fraudulent claims,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Anyone involved in, or entertaining, similar activity should know that health care fraud is a priority for the FBI, and we will pursue anyone trying to profit from this country’s vital health care system.”

The False Claims Act settlements resolve allegations originally brought in lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. In connection with today’s announced settlement, the relators will receive approximately $2.6 million of the recovery.

U.S. Attorney Rollins, HHS-OIG SAC Coyne and Boston FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evan Panich and Lindsey Ross of Rollins’ Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.

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Including Caregivers into Veterans’ medical teams was the focus of a launch event between VA and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation Jan. 31 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The Campaign for Inclusive Care Academy is a groundbreaking model for health care systems nationwide, said Sen. Elizabeth Dole, herself a Caregiver for her husband, Sen. Bob Dole.

“We want to equip the doctors, nurses, social workers and frontline medical personnel across the entire VA health system with the latest strategies for integrating Caregivers into their Veterans’ medical teams,” she said.

The training focuses on Caregivers and Veterans receiving geriatric, polytrauma and traumatic brain injury care. Providers learn about three topics: the Caregiver’s journey, the value of clear and mutual communication, and Veterans Health Administration privacy policies. The training fits into VA’s mission to care for those who have borne the battle, said VA Chief Veterans Experience Officer Dr. Lynda Davis.

“This commitment to customer service reflects our longstanding held culture referred to in the I CARE values that the VA has,” Davis–herself a Veteran Caregiver—said. The I CARE acronym stands for Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence.

Previously, including Caregivers into Veteran care wasn’t consistent. Under the new program, VA medical personnel will ask Veterans if they want a Caregiver included in medical care.

“We all know we sit in with our kids and hear what the doctor has to say, but when you’re an adult, nobody says, ‘Do you need your husband or wife to sit in?’” said Lisa Pape, deputy chief officer of Patient Care Services at VA. She said the VA will now ask that question because Caregivers are with Veterans all the time.

“Most of the advocates for this are the Veterans who want that family member engaged,” said Steven Schwab, Elizabeth Dole Foundation chief executive officer. He said the new program should set a new standard for VA and civilian health care. Schwab said major health care systems such as the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and Sanford Health are already following the program.

The program will start with three Veterans Integrated Service Networks, or VISNs. The three are VISN 10, headquartered in Ohio and covering parts of the Midwest; VISN 17, headquartered in Texas; and VISN 20, headquartered in Washington and covering the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In roughly two years, the program will expand to all VA facilities.

The Campaign for Inclusive Care Academy has several goals. One is helping VA identify Caregivers and make them part of the team. Equipping Caregivers to promote more positive clinical outcomes is another goal. The program also aims to enhance VA’s Choose Home program and improve care in the home. The last goal is to ensure that the information VA receives about Caregivers is respected and remains private.

Background

VA started meeting with the Veterans’ Family, Caregiver, and Survivor Advisory Committee in October 2017. In September 2018, the Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veteran and Caregiver Research started. The Joint Campaign for Inclusive Care launched in October 2019.

Research published in the June 2019 edition of the journal Health Affairs showed VA and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s progress on a Veteran’s health care treatment.

The report was “Including Family Caregivers in Seriously Ill Veterans’ Care: A Mixed-Methods Study.” Duke University led the research and emphasized caregiver inclusion identified in the VA – Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s Campaign for Inclusive Care, which strengthens health care and is a model for improving care in the private sector. The Campaign for Inclusive Care is one of several initiatives and programs through which VA supports Veterans’ caregivers.

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Veterans Affairs officials are planning to expand caregivers stipends to additional families starting this October, one year after advocates had originally hoped for the financial assistance to be put in place.

About 20,000 veterans — all of whom left the service after Sept. 11, 2001 — are currently participating in the VA caregiver program. The payouts provide thousands of dollars a month in compensation to spouses, parents and other partners of severely injured veterans who otherwise would require expensive institutionalization.

Under new regulations released Friday, department officials said caregivers of veterans injured on military duty before May 7, 1975, would be eligible for the monthly payouts as early as Oct. 1, although when the bulk of payouts would occur remains unclear.

Caregivers of veterans injured between 1975 and 2001 would have to wait two more years to enter the stipend program, under rules previously established by Congress. That leaves those families with a wait until at least October 2022 to enter the program.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the changes “will allow our most vulnerable veterans to stay with their loved ones for as long as possible” while recognizing the complexity of adding up to 41,000 new families to the program in coming years.

The expansion is expected to cost about $3 billion over the next five years, according to previous VA calculations.

The expansion was mandated under the VA Mission Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in summer 2019. The law is best known for an overhaul of VA’s community care programs, which Trump often refers to as “veterans choice” in campaign stump speeches.

But the caregiver provisions were a major issue for veterans advocates at the time of passage, because of concerns that many eldery veterans had been unfairly excluded from the program.

The program was due to be expanded in fall 2019, but delays in mandated technology upgrades pushed back the initiative by a year.

Under the final regulation, the revised Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or higher, regardless whether their condition resulted from an injury, illness or disease.

Monthly stipends are based on federal locality pay rules where veterans live. For a veteran living in Phoenix, for example, the caregiver of a veteran unable to live without full-time assistance would receive about $2,700 a month, and a caregiver of a veteran who needs only partial help would receive about $1,700 a month.

Department officials said they will also provide new training for staff and caregivers, to include financial planning and legal services for families.

The caregiver support program already provides eligible recipients with peer mentoring, respite care, and other support services. More information is available on https://www.va.gov/family-member-benefits/comprehensive-assistance-for-family-caregivers/.

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On March 27, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, into law to help Americans economically impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to help homeowners avoid home foreclosure.

As the country rallies together to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, VA’s Loan Guaranty Service is working to assist Veterans. The service is specifically focused on ensuring our Veterans and their families facing temporary or more long-term difficulty paying their monthly mortgage understand their options.

How does this law affect my VA home loan?

If you experience financial hardship caused directly or indirectly by COVID-19, then – as with any financial hardship – you should immediately contact your loan servicer (the company that accepts your monthly mortgage payments). If you do lose income, you always have options to avoid foreclosure on your VA home loan. Your options include forbearance extension under the CARES Act.

The CARES Act allows borrowers with government-backed loans (including VA loans) to request special forbearance – an agreement between you and your mortgage servicer – where your servicer agrees to either delay payments or to accept partial payments for one or more months. The details of any forbearance agreement are between you and your servicer, which means you don’t have to call VA for permission. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a video summarizing the mortgage forbearance changes.

• You can request a forbearance for up to 180 days without paying late fees or other penalties by simply stating you are affected financially by the COVID-19 national emergency. No extra documentation is required.
• If necessary, you can request up to 180 additional days of forbearance before the first forbearance period ends.
• Your servicer cannot report delinquency if you take advantage of relief related to COVID-19 throughout the current emergency and 120 days afterward.

What does “up to 180 days” mean?

Not all borrowers need 180 days. Your financial situation and ability to repay after the forbearance ends will help determine the length and terms of your forbearance agreement.

What do you need to know about forbearance?

It is important to understand that all delayed payments covered in a forbearance period are still owed. For example:

Your Monthly Mortgage Payment is $1,100 and you request a forbearance for three months. After the three-month forbearance, you’ll owe your mortgage servicer the $3,300 of missed payments in addition to resuming your monthly mortgage payment of $1,100.

Your servicer will try to help you reach affordability, so you must be honest about your income, savings and expenses. VA encourages you to be realistic about what you can afford and how much time you will need. We don’t want you to experience a worse financial situation in the future.

If you attempt to overreport your income to keep your home, you could face an insurmountable debt and raise your risk of foreclosure. Your servicer does not have to accept partial payments unless that was part of the agreement. If you underreport your expected income to try to save money, your servicer may determine that you can’t afford your loan and may raise your risk of foreclosure.

Your servicer will try to verify that you can afford your mortgage. Building trust will go a long way to help you avoid foreclosure and negative effects on your credit.

When are my missed payments due?

This depends on your forbearance agreement. Your repayment plan could be that you:

• Make the payments all at once, if you are financially able, or
• Spread payments out over an agreed upon time period.

What if I can’t afford the higher monthly payments?

In this case, VA allows loan modifications. This can offset the size of your monthly payments by extending your loan out beyond your 360-month (30-year) loan, as long as your loan does not exceed 480 months from origination date. Instead of 30 years, your loan term could be 30 years plus 1-month or up to 40 years.

Keep in mind, your mortgage note is a legal document that specifically states the date of first payment. Those payments are due on the first of each month, and the maturity date or paid-in-full date of the loan.

A VA loan can be repaid early without penalty, but your mortgage note must be legally modified to adjust any of the terms mentioned above.

What if I don’t have a government-backed home loan?

• All homeowners can use the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) “Find a Housing Counselor” tool to find counseling agencies approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in your area.
• You can also call the HOPE™ Hotline, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (888) 995-HOPE (4673).
• If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, other programs may be available. As a homeowner, you can find out if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae by going to https://www.knowyouroptions.com/covid19assistance and by Freddie Mac by going to https://myhome.freddiemac.com/getting-help/relief-for-homeowners.html

More information

Visit the VA home loan CARES Act webpage for more information. Check out VA’s coronavirus frequently asked questions page for all VA-related issues.

Also, visit CFPB’s coronavirus website for mortgage relief options, tips to keep up on your finances, and more.

And if you experience any issues with your home loan, you can call a VA Regional Loan Center at 1-877-827-3702. We may have additional call volume, so please be patient with us.

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Military Times “Best for Vets: Employers” rankings for 2021 has a different look this year, with more emphasis on the practices that Veterans say make civilian workplaces attractive to their talents and needs.

But the rankings still contain many of the same familiar names of companies focused on recruiting, retaining and promoting Veterans within their operations.

More than 160 employers participated in the 2021 survey, the most prominent annual public rankings of its kind. Each year the rankings provide a snapshot of different employment policies and services that companies provide to America’s Veterans, and highlight firms that Veteran job seekers should target.

The full list of this year’s Best for Vets: Employers rankings is available here.

This year’s list was compiled in partnership with the Fors Marsh Group, a research firm specializing in the Veterans and the military community. Officials there tweaked findings from previous years to better emphasize “areas that are of greatest importance to the Veteran and Veteran-connected community when looking for an employer.”

That included recruiting practices aimed at current military members and Veterans, retention and support programs, and a higher emphasis on employers who provide assistance and flexibility for individuals in the Guard and reserves.

“We had conducted focus groups with subject matter experts and with subscribers of Military Times,” said Tina Kurian, senior researcher for the Fors Marsh Group. “So they ordered which topics were most relevant for organizations to be the best for Veterans.”

The result, said group Director of Customer Experience Research Nicole Tongo, is a list of firms “that care about the things that Veterans care about, and good companies for them to explore if they are looking for a job.”

Recruiting Vets

That corporate connection with Veterans and service members starts with how companies bring them into the workplace.

Although each firm has different strategies and operations for recruiting Veterans, several of the top employers on the ranking said they rely heavily on transition programs through the Defense Department and U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative, because they provide more time for the difficult shift from military life to the civilian workforce.

“It has been a phenomenal approach for us,” said Jeremy Foshee, military recruiting manager at Southern Company, an energy utility firm which landed atop the Best for Vets rankings this year.

“It’s like an internship program. If the military command can give us a candidate for three months, we can start teaching them all of the areas of the energy business that they need even before they get hired, and see where the best places are to insert their talents.”

The Hire Vets Now program places military candidates into civilian jobs as early as 18 months before their separation from the ranks, giving them significant time to learn about their chosen industry and what is needed to succeed in the field.

“It basically is a working interview,” Foshee said. His firm has working partnerships with 47 military installations, which he says creates a strong link between the military and civilian worlds.

Charles Miles, director of Military and College Employment Programs at PenFed Credit Union, said his firm has seen similar success relying on those programs. PenFed was among the top non-profits on this year’s rankings.

But the company has also found over the years that successful recruiting requires work to ensure leaders recognize Veterans’ talent when they send over a resume.

“Making sure recruiters and hiring managers understand the military community and the skills [Veterans and service members] bring to companies is a difficult problem to solve,” he said. “One way we’ve done it is to focus on working with our hiring managers who are from the military community, because they better understand how Veterans’ experience relates to their jobs.”

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has presented some challenges to that outreach, as in-person recruiting fairs have been curtailed and shuttered.

“We did have to shift a lot online,” said Meg Hendricks, head of Military and Veteran Affairs for the corporate citizenship team at Fiserv, another top company on the list. “But as a result, our outreach may have gotten even better. It has allowed us to bring in more community partners and find more ways to connect to Veterans.”

Retaining workers

Another factor that received extra attention in this year’s rankings was companies’ retention efforts. Past studies have indicated as many as half of all service members will leave their first post-military job within a year, creating significant stress for both their personal situation and the companies they leave.

To counter that, numerous firms on this year’s list have emphasized their internal support networks as a way not just to connect Veterans with each other, but with other members of the company as well.

“We have 41 chapters with more than 14,000 members in our Veterans employee network, and more than half aren’t Veterans,” said Jeff Cathey, head of Military and Veterans Affairs for Bank of America, a top-five company in the rankings.

“We’re telling them that we’re going to put an arm around you and welcome you in. We want to be known not just as a great place to work, but a great place to stay and work.”

Officials at EY, another top-five firm in the rankings, recently shifted their support network from a single, centralized program to “regional centers of excellence” with more control by local officials and more links to local communities.

“It has made a big difference in not just how our Veterans see us, but how people on the outside see us,” said Anthony Caterino, senior vice chair at EY and the executive sponsor of the company’s Veterans network. “We’re more active, we’re doing more community engagement. And that has made a big difference in how Veterans think about us.”

This past summer, several top firms on the rankings list reacted to the military withdrawal from Afghanistan with additional outreach to their Veteran employees, to emphasize available support resources and the empathy co-workers had with the complex emotions they might be feeling.

At the defense contracting firm ManTech, another top performer in the rankings, the retention efforts also include support for individuals still serving in the National Guard and reserves.

Omari Faulkner, a director at the firm and an eight-year Navy reservist, said that includes helping out individuals called to duty with benefits and scheduling issues, and assuring them the company values that service. He said numerous employees were activated over the last two years, including numerous missions related to pandemic support efforts.

“We want to be as supportive as we can in their decision to serve the country,” he said. “And when people see that, it gives them more confidence and energy in who we are as a company.”

Unique skills

All of the firms interviewed about the rankings said their workplace is improved by the experience and viewpoints of their co-workers with military experience.

But Sheriff Scott Jenkins, of the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, said those benefits aren’t always the ones that people assume. The office was the top ranked government agency in the 2021 Best for Vets rankings.

“Veterans have solid training in tactics and firearms and the skills you would expect would be good for our work,” he said. “But they bring so much more.

“The ability to multitask is underrated. They have to assess a situation, communicate on the radio, sometimes while driving or doing other tasks. And we’re not making widgets in a factory here. Our guys are faced with life or death decisions, and they need to be able to balance all of it. The Veterans come in ready for that.”

Foshee said at Southern Company, officials are specifically looking at Veterans for open leadership roles, given their past military experience in taking charge of groups or individuals or specific tasks. Caterino said EY has seen the same benefits.

“They’ve operated in high-stress situations, they have a global mindset,” he said. “They’re able to integrate and take on challenges and really demonstrate critical thinking. When we get these Veterans into our teams, they excel.”

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As she became one of the 53 million Americans who provide care for a family member with special needs, she was so burned out she was "already toast."

I got married at 26 and we were both healthy. You just don't think about severe illness coming down the line when you make the vows. But caregiving, in some ways, is coming for us all. People are living longer and living through more severe illnesses.

During the crisis, on my drive from the hospital to home, I would sometimes think, “God, I could just get out of here” because the relentless pressure of every single day and the very painful sight of Brad being so sick added up to a wish for escape. In reality, I didn't want to actually leave my children and abandon everything. But it was a tempting fantasy.

When Brad came home, the biggest shock to me was being expected to do all this medical work with very little training. There's home care that has to be done and there isn’t insurance support for having somebody provide that, so it falls on family members. It’s a cost-saving measure for the health care system.

Hospital discharge instructions can be really complicated and entail a lot of hands-on care that most people don’t envision. The average person, when they think about a loved one becoming ill, is not thinking about personally administering IV medications through a port. You think, “Oh, a nurse will do that.” But you come home and there's no nurse to do that, so you become the nurse.

The training was handled by outside services that came in, so we also suddenly lost contact with the care providers who we knew really well. I was being trained by somebody unfamiliar and it felt very disorienting.

At one point at his worst, Brad’s chances of making it were only about 10%. The fear of loss was so strong and the ongoing strain of being his caregiver was so high that I walled off my feelings. He was so changed from the husband that I knew. I had to stick to what I promised and do my duty because in some ways I couldn't bear to feel all the feelings that would come up if I let them. So at times, I became a little bit robotic out of a feeling of self-protection.

I felt constant pressure to be sunny and upbeat. There's a strong culture of positivity around cancer in particular — “You've got to stay positive for him.” I found that pressure hard to take. I wanted to retain control over my emotions and how I was feeling. It was tough to feel positive when he was as sick as he was.

I found the “You got this” — some of the more glib kind of illness messaging — a little challenging. The saying I disliked the most is “Everything happens for a reason.” Because this did not happen for a reason. This is just terrible luck, at least according to my worldview, and it can be really hard and feel almost blaming to hear “this happened for a reason.” And it's like, well, what's the reason? What did we do to deserve this?

I definitely heard quite a few alternative medicine suggestions — including that Brad should try turmeric or essential oils. I was able to understand they're well-intentioned. People don't understand the severity of things. They've heard about something that might help, so share that almost in panic or a desire to help.

I went on antidepressants when Brad was in the hospital. Drinking alcohol was definitely something I've talked to mental health and health care professionals about and cut back. I'm certainly not drinking as much as I was when he was very ill, but it was something that I started to look at and think, I should probably rein this in before it does become a problem.

If people want to help a caregiver, I really appreciated a text that just said, “I'm just thinking of you. No need to answer if you're overwhelmed.” Offering to bring a meal is definitely a classic. When you're running to Target, texting “Can I pick something up for you?” can be really helpful.

My husband is doing quite a bit better now — he is disabled and has ongoing chronic illness that requires treatment fairly often, but he's in remission from the cancer — and so my role as a caregiver has kind of receded. It's a little bit more of partnership. My burnout has eased considerably.

It is so hard to imagine, until you've gone through it, how overwhelming really severe illness can be. We can try to convey what caregiving or experiencing that kind of family crisis is like, but I don't think it really hits home until it comes to pass.

We need supports to make that sustainable for the family members who support people through those crises. We can do this better for the caregivers of the future who are going to number in the ever-growing millions.

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Every May, we celebrate Military Caregivers Month. As our population continues to age, more people – including Veterans – will need care. Caregivers are the backbone of long-term care – and being a caregiver is demanding. It can also be incredibly rewarding. Many caregivers cherish the opportunity to support their loved ones.

As Dr. Jennifer Olsen, chief executive officer of RCI, explains, “Caregiving in military families goes far beyond caregivers of those injured due to their military service, including aging parents and grandparents, other family members, friends and children with special needs.” RCI’s programs enable military and Veteran caregivers to foster connections and create a community of support. These programs also help with the common burdens that caregivers face, including those below.

Financial Burden

Many caregivers face a financial burden when caring for a Veteran. Some need to provide specialized care that can be costly, and others lack the financial resources to cover all the costs associated with caregiving. Caregivers often take time off work to provide the necessary care. As a result, caregivers may suffer a decrease in income, loss of a career, and depletion of their savings. Fortunately, their loved ones may be eligible to receive Social Security disability or retirement benefits to help ease this burden. To learn more, please visit out Information for Military & Veterans page.

“Military service introduces unique challenges to the work of caregiving. These caregivers are asked to manage the workload of caregiving while dealing with relocations, deployments and family separations, financial insecurity and additional barriers to employment, and their own health and mental health concerns.”

– Caregiving in Military Families: 2020 Military Family Lifestyle Survey Special Report (Written by Blue Star Families – in conjunction with the Rosalynn Carter Institute (RCI) and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, at Syracuse University).

Emotional Stress

Providing care to a sick or injured Veteran often falls on the shoulders of relatives, friends, or loved ones. Some caregivers feel overwhelmed by the demands. Others feel guilty or anxious about their ability to provide proper care. Stress may leave the caregiver unable to complete personal tasks. The person they care for may have a chronic illness or be experiencing the natural effects of aging. A loved one’s decline can be emotionally challenging and hard to accept.

Lack of Support

While Veteran caregivers take care of our nation’s heroes, they are often too busy to find support for themselves. In addition, they often don’t have the family or social support needed to care for themselves effectively. Lack of self-care leads to burnout.

RCI understands the challenges of caregiving and offers programs to promote a caregiver’s overall health. Learn more about RCI’s caregiver support programs or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Celebrate Military Caregivers Month with RCI and thank a caregiver for their dedication and service. Please share this with friends and family – and post it on social media.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Patients residing in the Community Living Center on the campus of the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville are met with a staff hoping to make their stay as comfortable and familiar as possible.

“This is not what they’re used to living in, but we try really hard to make it a homelike environment that’s safe and comfortable even being on a healthcare campus” says Kristie King, Chief Nurse of Geriatrics and Extended Care.

“We encourage them to engage in activities that they like, to identify things that they like. We want them to be as independent as possible, and we want to make sure that the quality of their lives for well deserving Veterans is recognized by all of us.”

One way King and her staff recognize these Veterans is by getting to know them during their stay.

“That’s the part of this that, I think, I love, and I know the staff loves too is to figure out exactly what they need and to individualize their care."

Part of that individualized care comes in the form of creating shadow boxes for patients. The boxes hang in the halls of the Living Center next to the patient’s room.

“The shadow boxes stared out of a desire that we recognize them as individuals. They have made huge contributions to their country, to their families, to their work worlds,” King said.

Walking through the halls, it’s hard not grow curious about each patient. One is a huge Journey fan, another loves Big Red chewing gum and dancing. Down another hall, a former West Henderson football player and his faith are on display. On and on the stories go.

“Whatever we can do to help people feel more positive about themselves, their commitments, generate conversation is just a great thing," King said.

If you would like to send donations to aid in the creation of the shadow boxes, please send them to: Voluntary Services, Charles George VA Medical Center, 1100 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC 28805.

In the memo box, please note the donation is for the shadow boxes.

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BENTON, Ill. – A Carterville man was sentenced on Thursday, September 16 to four years of probation for drug diversion and health care fraud charges. Joseph M. Mattingly, 42, was also ordered to pay a $500 fine along with a $200 special assessment.

According to court documents, Mattingly diverted Schedule II controlled substance (Hydrocodone) pills from a patient and defrauded the Medicare program of the cost of the pills.

In 2018, Mattingly was employed as a nurse with Progress Port, a center for adults with intellectual disabilities in Williamson County. Between August 20, 2018 and October 30, 2018, Mattingly obtained possession of 25 Hydrocodone pills he falsely claimed he dispended to a Progress Port resident, which he diverted for his own personal use.

Mattingly took three Hydrocodone pills intended for the same Progress Port resident and replaced those pills with Tylenol, an over-the-counter medication at three separate locations.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations and the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau.

If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with healthcare laws or public aid programs, you may report this activity to the local office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, or you may call 1.800.447.8477.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two former top officials at a Massachusetts Veterans home where nearly 80 residents died in one of the country’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility appeared in court Tuesday in an effort to have their criminal charges dismissed.

Lawyers for former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton argued on a number of motions to dismiss the case in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield.

They maintained the state had not met its burden of proof for charging their clients with 10 counts each, including abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of an elderly or disabled person.

“We don’t think anyone here should be blamed criminally for anything,” Michael Jennings, a lawyer for Walsh, argued. “The blame here belongs to the virus, not with anyone who worked in that nursing home.”

Prosecutors argued that the decision by Walsh, Clinton and other facility leaders to cram residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same unit as those with no symptoms was negligent.

The judge didn’t immediately make a ruling, and another court date was set for the end of October.

Walsh and Clinton have complained they’re being scapegoated by state officials. One of Walsh’s lawyers also suggested Tuesday that his client’s effort to alert state officials relatively early in the crisis helped save lives by allowing the state to mobilize the National Guard.

But an independent report commissioned by the state concluded that “utterly baffling” decisions made by facility administrators allowed the virus to spread unchecked last March as the pandemic took hold in the U.S.

At least 76 Veterans died from the virus over 11 weeks, and many more residents and staff were sickened.

Earlier this month, Veterans home workers filed a class-action suit against several members of the facility’s former leadership team, including Walsh and Clinton.

The workers allege they were forced to care for sick and dying Veterans, sometimes after testing positive themselves, in “inhumane conditions.”

The workers argued in the lawsuit filed in federal court that Holyoke Soldiers’ Home administrators initially ignored guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for containing the virus and lied to state officials about measures they were taking to protect residents and staff once the first Veteran tested positive in March 2020.

Walsh, who resigned in October, declined to comment. Clinton strongly denied the allegations.

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OXFORD, Mass. (WBZ) - It was an act of kindness when a grocery store worker did something remarkable to help a Veteran.

Briar Poirier is the kind of guy people seek out when they shop at the market basket in oxford.

“He asks me about my day. He lightens my mood. He jokes with me a little bit, makes my day 100% better,” said emergency room nurse Renee Falcioni.

Aside from working at the grocery store for the past eight years, Poirier describes himself as an autistic man that loves music, knowledge, video gaming and compassion.

It’s the compassion part that stuck out to Falcioni during a recent shopping trip.

“I was an aisle ahead of Briar, and he was cashing out an elderly man who happened to be a Veteran. And the Veteran was short paying for his grocery bill, and without hesitation, Briar took out his wallet and said, ‘I’ve got this,’” she said.

Poirier said he knew the man was a Veteran because of the attire he was wearing and wanted to thank him for his service.

“The gentleman had a couple basic necessities and looked like he was a little down on his luck, and the man fought for our country, fought for our freedoms, our rights. It’s the least I could do for him,” he said.

“I turned around and saw the Veteran. His eyes just light up. And he shook his hand, and he said thank you and he had a big smile from ear to ear,” Falcioni said.

She shared the story on social media, and many who have encountered Poirier at the grocery store were not surprised.

“From what I’ve read on social media, it’s not the first time that he’s done this. And he’s helped so many people,” Falcioni said.

“My parents taught me that hard work, perseverance and just being kind to others can help accomplish a lot in the world,” Poirier said.

The gentleman had used up a $25 Market Basket gift card and still owned $3, an amount which Poirier happily paid out of his own pocket, proving a small act of kindness can go a long way.

“I’m hoping more people can help each other in times of need, whether you be a stranger or a friend, just to make people’s day better,” he said.

Poirier definitely made at least one person’s day better.

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