Raymond Kenneth Musgrove seemed to have hit on a perfect scam. He impersonated a Vietnam war veteran for more than 25 years, authorities say, collecting service-related disability benefits and health care under the man’s name.
After the real veteran died in 2018 the Veterans Affairs Department cut off the benefits. Investigators say Mr. Musgrove called and convinced them he was still alive and the dead veteran was the fraudster, and they restarted the payments.
In 2021, the VA’s inspector general located the veteran’s headstone at Ft. Sill National Cemetery and urged the department to cut off benefits. Court documents say Mr. Musgrove once again convinced them the veteran, identified only by initials J.M.C., was still alive. Payments began again.
All told, authorities say, Mr. Musgrove walked away with more than $825,000 in bogus benefits, much of that paid out after J.M.C. was already dead.
Payments to dead people are one of the more infuriating aspects of government spending, especially when they involve bureaucratic bungling or outright fraud.
After the real veteran died in 2018 the Veterans Affairs Department cut off the benefits. Investigators say Mr. Musgrove called and convinced them he was still alive and the dead veteran was the fraudster, and they restarted the payments.
In 2021, the VA’s inspector general located the veteran’s headstone at Ft. Sill National Cemetery and urged the department to cut off benefits. Court documents say Mr. Musgrove once again convinced them the veteran, identified only by initials J.M.C., was still alive. Payments began again.
All told, authorities say, Mr. Musgrove walked away with more than $825,000 in bogus benefits, much of that paid out after J.M.C. was already dead.
Payments to dead people are one of the more infuriating aspects of government spending, especially when they involve bureaucratic bungling or outright fraud.
To death don’t us part: Why Uncle Sam keeps paying benefits to dead people
Payments to dead people are one of the more infuriating aspects of government spending, especially when they involve bureaucratic bungling or outright fraud. But from disaster relief payments to farm subsidies, the government has trouble sorting out when it’s paying someone who’s already gone.
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