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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/23/2022 01:05:08

Fail.

Typical of my day today (last night). I spent a good 20 minutes writing a thoughtful blog and neglected to save it.


I'm not going to try to re-create it, but I can still post the source material. We all have to deal with scammers and fraud - but it's particularly galling when the targets are veterans.


Go Navy Tax Services seemed like a great option for sailors looking for help during tax season. Situated just outside the gates of Naval Base San Diego, one of the country’s biggest Navy bases, it was local, it was convenient, it was specifically focused on helping Navy members with their taxes — and best of all, it was free.

When sailors entered the doors of the Navy-flag adorned trailer where Go Navy Tax Services was based, they found what they came for: free tax preparation. But the accountants also pushed service members to open retirement accounts. For years, Paul Flanagan and his associates at Go Navy Tax Services convinced service members who came in for tax help to open various savings accounts, providing them with all the necessary forms. They just had to fill in their personal information and sign on the dotted line.

But the nearly 5,000 applications that sailors and Marines signed didn’t actually open retirement accounts. Instead, they bought unnecessary life insurance policies—without the sailors’ knowledge—and authorized withdrawals to pay for them from the sailors’ bank accounts. In turn, Flanagan and his co-conspirators earned more than $2 million in commissions on the “sales” over nearly a decade. The service members who had signed the forms lost a combined $4.8 million.

“Service members have given so much to our country,” Xavier Becerra, then the California attorney general, said in a statement after Flanagan and his associates were indicted on 69 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, forgery, identity theft, and grand theft, among other things, in 2019. “They should not have to worry about being targeted and taken advantage of by malicious scammers.”


And I suppose along similar lines, we can also classify Stolen Valor as a scam of sorts. I've written about this before. (An old Scouter that I know claimed military service, but had none - he wound up doing time.) It's especially galling when the person involved is in charge of an organization that's supposed to serve veterans.


A woman who led a veteran service organization in Georgia has been charged with misrepresenting herself, state authorities said.

Gabrielle Beutler, 31, was the post commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5897 in Lavonia, Georgia, when the local police flagged the "suspected criminal misconduct" for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), according to a news release from Wednesday, Aug. 17.

The GBI said they discovered that Beutler faked being a veteran, using fake IDs to buy Purple Heart license plates and forging military discharge documents, all of which got her the job at the VFW.

The woman was arrested at her job and charged with forgery, distributing false identification and misrepresentation of veteran status, according to investigators.

Contact information for Beutler's attorneys was not immediately available. But the VFW Department of Georgia told McClatchy News it is investigating the allegations.

"These egregious allegations are in no way representative of the other members of VFW Post 5897 or the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Georgia," a spokesperson said in a statement. "The men and women of our organization are proud of our service and remain committed to performing the mission of serving the veterans, military families, and our communities in the great state of Georgia."


One thing the United States is bad at is taking care of our veterans. Whether it is mental health, medical care, housing, career placement, spousal support...you name it, every one of these things has been a crisis. Veteran Service agencies and other charities can fill some of that gap - but how much of the resources donated get squandered on scams?
 

6 comments (Latest Comment: 08/23/2022 14:15:58 by Raine)
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Comment by Will_in_LA on 08/23/2022 13:00:43
Good morning, bloggers!!!!

Unfortunately, scammers are very common. Service members and veterans are often vulnerable, as some have a lot on their minds. Someone on active duty or a veteran dealing with a benefits headache may not check out a service aimed at veterans. Indeed, many people spend little time checking claims out because of their busy lives.



Comment by Raine on 08/23/2022 13:26:34
Good Morning.

this thread is spectacular...



Comment by Raine on 08/23/2022 13:27:29
Stolen valor people are really the shittiest ppl.

Comment by Raine on 08/23/2022 13:28:10
Quote by Raine:
Good Morning.

this thread is spectacular...








Comment by Raine on 08/23/2022 13:31:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Raine:
Good Morning.

this thread is spectacular...











Comment by Raine on 08/23/2022 14:15:58
without comment.