U.S. Attorney in Kentucky indicts 14 in VA fraud scheme

From WLKY-TV:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The U.S. Attorney said a scheme to defraud nearly $2 million from the Veterans Administration leads to the indictment of 14 people.

Investigators said the two men who are accused of leading this scheme recruited friends and relatives to get that money based on falsified medical claims.

Now, 13 veterans and the mother of one of the leaders face multiple charges.

"This case was initiated by someone who thought that something fishy was going on, not someone who was indicted," said U.S. Attorney David Huber.

Based on that tip, the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the FBI conducted an exhaustive investigation leading to the discovery of five years worth of fraud.

That fraud amounted to about $1.9 million collected based on false medical claims. Investigators said 37-year-old Daniel Parker and 37-year-old Jeffrey McGill masterminded the scheme. McGill, who worked at the VA regional office in Louisville, was responsible for reviewing and rating disability claims.

Parker was supposed to help disabled veterans in their pursuit of benefits.

According to the indictment, the two men recruited 12 co-conspirators, including Parker's own mother, who investigators said filed a false claim on behalf of her husband.

"She split the money with the son," Huber said. "Father never knew anything about this, he never participated in the fraud."

One person who is accused of participating is Southwest Airlines pilot Dean Toth, a former Marine officer.

As a commercial pilot, court records indicate Toth had three mandatory physicals in the last three years showing no hearing loss, but those records show Parker and McGill doctored a VA hearing exam so Toth could get 100 percent disability payments based on hearing loss.

"They actually created medical records, false medical records of real doctors," said Huber.

The main reason the U.S. attorney spoke publicly about these indictments is that there's concern in the Veterans Administration this type of fraud could be going on across the country. Huber said this case may lead to changes in the VA's disability payment review process.