Quote:
The illegal thing is thing not reporting the medical condition to the FAA on a federal form.
Originally Posted by USMCFLYR
Not sure it is fraud if the VA gave these people a disability rating based off the VA exams.The illegal thing is thing not reporting the medical condition to the FAA on a federal form.
From a a Spokane WA newspaper article:
Quote:
Sebero lives in LaClede, Idaho, about 15 miles north of Sandpoint, but also owns a home on Austin Lane in Spokane, according to court documents.
Sebero could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer, James Parkins, did not return a phone call. Sentencing is set for July 10.
“By his actions, Mr. Sebero disgraced the system that compensates all those veterans who are truly disabled and who are fairly compensated for their injuries in service to their country,” U.S. Attorney James A. McDevitt said in a news release.
Sebero was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base before telling officials he’d lost the use of his legs while unloading a snowmobile.
He began receiving monthly benefits in 1976 and was netting more than $6,000 a month when the VA halted benefits after his September 2007 examination – his first since 1978, records show.
In the nearly three decades between those appointments, Sebero became a marine deputy for the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, operated heavy equipment, flew a helicopter and owned a small-aircraft repairs business at Felts Field in Spokane, all while amassing nearly $1.5 million in VA disability benefits, according to court documents.
“Records indicate that on each application for various airman’s certificates, Sebero denied any sort of medical problems or disability,” according to a news release.
He opened the repairs business in 1992 after operating an excavation business for 12 years, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ellis said in October he expected to subpoena Sebero’s two ex-wives and his current wife for the trial to testify about their sex lives with him to further debunk the paraplegic claim, according to previously published reports.
Sebero was facing federal charges for inspecting planes he wasn’t authorized to inspect when authorities learned he’d been drawing disability benefits.
He pleaded guilty in that case last summer and was ordered to pay $10,754 in restitution as a condition of five years probation.
Sebero lives in LaClede, Idaho, about 15 miles north of Sandpoint, but also owns a home on Austin Lane in Spokane, according to court documents.
Sebero could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer, James Parkins, did not return a phone call. Sentencing is set for July 10.
“By his actions, Mr. Sebero disgraced the system that compensates all those veterans who are truly disabled and who are fairly compensated for their injuries in service to their country,” U.S. Attorney James A. McDevitt said in a news release.
Sebero was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base before telling officials he’d lost the use of his legs while unloading a snowmobile.
He began receiving monthly benefits in 1976 and was netting more than $6,000 a month when the VA halted benefits after his September 2007 examination – his first since 1978, records show.
In the nearly three decades between those appointments, Sebero became a marine deputy for the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, operated heavy equipment, flew a helicopter and owned a small-aircraft repairs business at Felts Field in Spokane, all while amassing nearly $1.5 million in VA disability benefits, according to court documents.
“Records indicate that on each application for various airman’s certificates, Sebero denied any sort of medical problems or disability,” according to a news release.
He opened the repairs business in 1992 after operating an excavation business for 12 years, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ellis said in October he expected to subpoena Sebero’s two ex-wives and his current wife for the trial to testify about their sex lives with him to further debunk the paraplegic claim, according to previously published reports.
Sebero was facing federal charges for inspecting planes he wasn’t authorized to inspect when authorities learned he’d been drawing disability benefits.
He pleaded guilty in that case last summer and was ordered to pay $10,754 in restitution as a condition of five years probation.