Man posed as dead brother, stole VA benefits - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Man posed as dead brother, stole VA benefits

PHOENIX — A western Arizona man is headed to prison for 18 months for stealing nearly $200,000 in Veterans Administration benefits.

Fifty-nine-year-old Francis Lamken of Quartzsite was also ordered to pay nearly $174,000 in restitution.

He pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud.

Lamken was discharged from the military in 1971 under conditions less than honorable based on a court martial for stealing government property.

Two months later the VA denied his application for benefits as a result of his discharge.

Prosecutors say Lamken applied for VA benefits using the identity of his brother, Charles Lamken, who died in 2006 and never applied for pension or health benefits from the VA.

Lamken obtained VA medical care and $169,214 in pension benefits while posing as his brother.