Federal money was to be used for job training for vets injured in Iraq, AfghanistanJuly 10, 2015 - A San Diego federal jury on Friday convicted the founders of a film school for wounded veterans of defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by embezzling funds intended for the training program, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Judith Paixao, 61, was found guilty of all charges, including conspiracy, theft, making false claims and mail fraud, prosecutors said. Her husband, Kevin Lombard, 64, was found guilty of conspiracy, theft and making false claims, but acquitted of a mail fraud charge.
Jurors deliberated about three days following a four-week trial.
From 2007 until 2009, the couple were directors of the tax-exempt Wounded Marine Careers Foundation, which was intended to train veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan for careers in filmmaking. Evidence presented during the trial showed they conspired to defraud the VA by submitting false claims for training and equipment they never provided, prosecutors said.
snip On the mail fraud count, Paixao was convicted of accepting thousands of dollars from the Bob Woodruff Foundation for one student who had left the program.
snip "These defendants capitalized on the misfortune of wounded Marines in their time of vulnerability and took advantage of the VA's commitment to serving wounded veterans to defraud the VA and enrich themselves," U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy said in the statement. read more>>>
After tens of thousands of dollars raised from the public, the charity has yet to deliver any cars to vets7 July 2015 - "FantomWorks," the reality show about a Norfolk auto restoration shop, returned to the air last month for its third season, but one of the storylines from season one remains unresolved: Dan Short, the owner of the car shop, had started a nonprofit, Wounded Wheels, dedicated to outfitting classic muscle cars with wheelchair ramps and specialized controls for paraplegic war veterans.
But after tens of thousands of dollars raised from the public, promotional car shows and numerous flattering news stories, the charity has yet to deliver any cars to veterans.
A Virginian-Pilot review of public tax documents and internal financial records found that, of about $90,000 raised by Short's charity since 2012, more than $30,000 has been paid directly to his for-profit auto shop near Old Dominion University. And according to three former shop employees, the first muscle car modified for a wheelchair — a 1970 Chevy Chevelle featured in a "FantomWorks" TV episode two years ago — remains unsafe and may be unfit for donation.
"They talk a lot about helping veterans, but to date it doesn't appear they've done anything to help a veteran," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the watchdog group CharityWatch, after reviewing Wounded Wheels financial records. "It seems like a cool idea, but they really need to show some kind of benefit to veterans to justify this as a nonprofit." read more>>>
Neither of these recent wars have yet been paid for, nor the continued blowback from the spread and growth from the policies implemented!
Neither the long term results from, including the long ignored or outright denied existence of, till this Administrations Cabinet and Gen Shinseki, only Government branch consistent for the past six years, Veterans issues from!
As well as under deficits most of the, grossly under funded for decades and the wars from now, VA budget is still borrowed, with interest, thus added problem creating costs, with representative who control the purse strings blaming the mostly dedicated VA personal within, that shouldn't exist!
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