Sen. Webb calls for VA inquiry into reports of fraud

Sen. Jim Webb wants the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate what he says are numerous reports of misrepresentation of military service, including false prisoner-of-war claims.

In a letter this week to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, the Virginia Democrat said he has become increasingly concerned about the reports, which in many cases involve allegations of unearned veterans benefits being paid on the basis of fraudulent claims.

In one of the most striking examples, The Associated Press reported in April that although the Department of Defense says there are only 21 surviving POWs from the first Gulf War in 1991, the VA is paying disability benefits to 286 service members who claim POW status from that conflict.

Mary Schantag, a researcher for P.O.W. Network, a Missouri-based POW support group, welcomed Webb's call for an investigation. She said her organization receives reports of suspected fraudulent POW claims every day.

"It's an epidemic," she said. "Since Friday, I have filed 37 requests for military records, 99 percent of which we believe will come back as frauds and phonies."

Schantag said many of the cases involve forgery of documents such as military discharge papers. "We have been reporting these frauds and phonies to the VA for years without resolution," she said.

There is no specific POW benefit, but an account of imprisonment and mistreatment can influence whether a vet receives VA disability benefits and the size of those payments.

In another report earlier this month, the Marine Corps Times said it found 40 erroneous profiles in the 2009 Marine Corps Association Directory, including false claims of 16 Medals of Honor, 16 Navy Crosses and eight Silver Stars.

Also this month, in the wake of a fraud case involving the VA regional office in Louisville, Ky., the VA's inspector general warned that gaps in the agency's internal controls offer opportunities for large fraudulent benefit payments.

In his letter to Shinseki, Webb said that in addition to generating unearned benefits, misrepresentation of military service "detracts from the actual sacrifices that so many have made on behalf of our country."

Webb, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Navy secretary, said he has no way to measure the validity of the reports. "But since they go to the very core of military service," he wrote, "I believe they should be examined immediately and proactively, with oversight at the top levels" of the VA.

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com