Scammers target veterans’ disability benefits

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POSTED ON FEB 8, 2024 from DAV

Increasingly, claim sharks are targeting veterans by seeking payment to assist with filing public disability benefits questionnaires with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

WHY IT MATTERS
It’s an illegal and predatory scam. Veterans should never pay to file an initial benefits claim.

  • DAV and other VA-accredited representatives are the only ones the VA permits to file an initial claim on a veteran’s behalf. DAV does not, nor will it ever, charge for this service.

THE BIG PICTURE
With the VA reporting $135 billion in total annual compensation and the PACT Act becoming law in 2022, veterans benefits are a lucrative target for scammers.

  • According to the U.S. government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, claim sharks, who present themselves as consultants or coaches, use aggressive tactics and false promises to pressure veterans into paying fees for assistance. These fees are often a percentage of future benefits payments.
  • DAV National Service Director Jim Marszalek: “DAV will never charge a veteran for claims assistance. We have over 3,700 benefits advocates who expertly assist hundreds of thousands of veterans annually. Helping veterans should never be about making a profit. It’s simply about ensuring they receive the care and benefits they’ve earned.”

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Heed these deceptive tactics and warning signs. Report suspected wrongdoing to the VA at va.gov/oig/hotline or 800-488-8244.

  • Any person or organization that charges a fee or a percentage of benefits to help with an initial claim.
  • Guarantees for a large increase in a veteran’s service-connected disability rating. Only the VA makes disability rating determinations.
  • Payment in exchange for a health care provider’s promise of a diagnosis or exaggeration of a medical condition. Scammers use this deceptive practice to lure veterans.
  • Demands that veterans sign contracts with membership fees, provide banking information and share account passwords. Claim sharks typically have veterans file their own claim and then come to collect after the VA makes a rating determination.

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Pearl Harbor: It’s personal

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By Daniel J. Seehafer, National Commander

December 7, 1941, is forever emblazoned in history as the day of infamy. But it was more than that. For Americans the attack was personal. In the weeks that followed, recruiting offices extended operating hours to accommodate the thousands of Americans who lined up to answer their nation’s call and exact retribution on those responsible. The day ushered in our nation’s entry into a war that would claim more than 407,000 American lives.

It’s personal for The American Legion as well. The Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion directs us to “preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars.” This includes remembering the 2,403 Americans killed during the attack, the thousands more wounded and the countless witnesses who were forever changed.

To this day our friends in the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) continue to identify the remains of those who were killed in the attack but remained unknown due to limitations in scientific technology. One such hero was Navy Mess Attendant 1st Class Ralph M. Boudreaux of New Orleans. Stationed on the USS Oklahoma, Boudreaux’s battleship was struck by multiple Japanese torpedoes before it capsized. The 20-year-old sailor was among the 429 Oklahoma crewmen who died from the attack.

Eventually, Oklahoma’s “unknowns” were interred at the National Cemetery of the Pacific before being exhumed in 2015 for scientific analysis by DPAA. Boudreaux will be returned to his family next month for burial in Slidell, La.

The American Legion is extremely supportive of the DPAA’s mission to provide the fullest possible accounting for the missing heroes of all wars involving the United States.  If you are related to someone who is MIA, you may be able to donate a  DNA specimen and assist in identification efforts.

Preserving the memories of the fallen is no doubt easier when there are living eyewitnesses. The challenge is to continue the same respect when all are gone. Every veteran of World War II can rest assure that The American Legion will forever honor their sacrifice and service. I hope to convey that message to any Pearl Harbor survivor that I have the privilege to meet as I attend official observances today.

Visiting the USS Arizona and the other Pearl Harbor memorials is not just my duty as national commander of the nation’s largest veterans organization. It’s personal.