A Minnesota man has been convicted of mendacity about serving within the army, defrauding the Division of Veterans Affairs out of $146,287 in a brazen case of stolen valor.
Mikhail R. Wicker pieced collectively a whale of a narrative, claiming he had served in fight in Iraq, even going as far as stating he had earned a Purple Coronary heart as a member of the Marine Corps.
In line with prosecutors within the case, Wicker cast a fight document full of false info. He claimed he had graduated from sniper college, was deployed to Iraq in 2005 with Lima Firm, survived a stint as a prisoner of struggle, and earned the celebrated Purple Coronary heart for being wounded in fight.
Nevertheless, a federal investigation uncovered what Wicker was actually doing in ’05 – residing as a civilian in Michigan. Wicker’s scheme was elaborate. He falsified DD-214 paperwork detailing his “service document,” produced pictures of pretend medals, and even hoodwinked precise Marines on social media, all to acquire incapacity advantages from VA, together with funding from the GI Invoice.
Dr. Brent M. Eastwood, a retired Army infantry officer, writing in regards to the case for the Nationwide Safety Journal, stated, “His conviction for wire and mail fraud highlights how stolen valor exploits an already overburdened incapacity system. These false hijinks often make veterans indignant however don’t contain any severe crime. However this case is among the many most egregious I’ve ever seen.”
Wicker’s trial lasted per week, and a jury convicted him on Nov. 21. He’ll obtain sentencing from a federal decide at a later date.
No Navy Paychecks
Maybe Wicker, 39, yearned to be a soldier or was simply in search of a approach to get forward in life with out actually incomes it; both method, he cooked up fairly a narrative.
He stated he served with Lima Firm, third Battalion, of the twenty fifth Marine Regiment in Iraq and was taken prisoner by insurgents. There isn’t a doubt his “Purple Coronary heart” and different honors for meritorious service in all probability appeared spectacular to VA claims representatives.
But when VA officers had appeared extra extensively into his Social Safety data, they’d have seen Wicker was working in retail in Michigan in 2005.
“There isn’t a indication he was ever paid a single paycheck from any department of the army,” prosecutors stated in a pre-trial assertion.
Wicker claimed that after he was launched from seize, he recovered from his wounds, and the Marine Corps despatched him to sniper college. In actuality, the civilian had been harm in a automobile accident in 2005 and pleaded responsible to not reporting the incident.
How Did He Do It?
Based mostly on the investigation, it’s clear Wicker took his time to plan out an elaborately faux scheme.
He conjured up bogus dates and particulars on a false DD-214 kind. In 2006, he was able to take his trickery to new heights, making use of for a incapacity score and receiving advantages from the VA. When the GI Invoice turned out there for post-9/11 veterans, Wicker signed up for that, too.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reported that Wicker joined a Marine Fb group to attempt to legitimize his fraudulent handiwork.
“He despatched messages to Lima Firm veterans claiming to recollect sure folks and asking for particulars that he ‘forgot.’ In 2020, Wicker tricked one of many group members into vouching for him in a letter to the VA, though the veteran had no recollection of serving with Wicker,” MPR stated.
After deceiving VA, Wicker made the error of attempting to push his luck. He requested to have his incapacity score elevated. VA went to examine his army data and came upon he had none.
Defrauding the System
Wicker’s stolen valor case particularly appears unhealthy to all professional veterans who spend years attempting to obtain incapacity advantages or battle VA regulators only for a small scores improve.
To obtain incapacity funds, a veteran should apply and doc both psychological or bodily accidents, at instances each, that have been precipitated throughout their army service. Veterans then must be examined by docs, with their notes being extensively scrutinized.
Veterans typically have claims denied, however they’ll attraction these choices. In the event that they win the attraction and are awarded advantages, they’re given a score between 10 and one hundred pc and are paid a month-to-month tax-free stipend primarily based on their score. Veterans with greater scores typically don’t work full-time jobs as a consequence of their disabilities, so receiving month-to-month funds is a lifeline.
The funds add up over time and are rewarded retroactively to the date the veteran applies, which is how Wicker was capable of rack up greater than $146,000 in fraudulent money.
“Wicker’s use of Fb to pad his story is particularly troubling, as he claimed to be part of a bunch of Marines who unwittingly gave him particulars for his faux service,” Eastman wrote. “Hopefully, Wicker faces the results for his transgressions and learns that it’s improper to lie about army service and defraud the federal government.”
