A Marine veteran accused of theft is accused of stealing more than $344,000 in military disability benefits and submitting a Purple Heart application for injuries suffered in a roadside bombing that never happened.
Paul John “PJ” Herbert, 52, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested Friday morning on one count of government theft and one count of making a false statement, according to the Justice Department.
Herbert allegedly stole more than $344,000 in veterans’ disability benefits “to be used to assist veterans in need” from January 1, 2010, to March 11, 2023, “falsely representing” himself as a decorated war veteran who was wounded in the line of service.
Herbert served in the Marines on active duty from 1989 to 1993 and in the reserves from 1993 to 1995.
Herbert also applied to his local congressman for a Purple Heart in October 2018, claiming he suffered a traumatic brain injury from an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) while deployed in Iraq after the end of the Gulf War.
The Purple Heart is the oldest surviving US military award and was first awarded to soldiers near the end of the Revolutionary War in 1782 by George Washington.Getty Images
“Not only did he steal tens of thousands of dollars in disability benefits that should have been used to help veterans in need, but he also falsely claimed to have suffered a traumatic brain injury during his deployment in an effort to receive the Purple Heart he received. unqualified,” said US Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
“Stealing from our nation’s veterans or claiming bravery where there is none is an insult to the honorable service members who sacrifice for our safety,” Levy added.
Herbert’s false allegations were first exposed in August after he was forced to apologize to fellow veterans for embellishing his military service and accepting medals and money he did not earn, the Greenfield Record reported.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019. AFP via Getty Images
“I just need to feel important. I started feeling important and feeling good about myself and I didn’t know how to get out,” Herbert told the outlet in 2022.
“I know I hurt a lot of people who trusted me and cared about me and everything.”
Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans Services began investigating reports of Herbert’s false claims in the fall of 2021, according to the outlet.
The service was first alerted to Herbert’s alleged fraud after the organization’s deputy director, Christopher Demars, attended an event where the veteran who allegedly stole the courage spoke about his time in Iraq to fellow veterans.
The Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans Service headquarters is located in Greenfield, MA. Greenfieldma.gov
Herbert claimed to have survived a deadly IED attack in Northern Iraq while conducting military operations with the British Royal Marines to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing the end of the Persian Gulf War.
He claimed British servicemen were killed during the attack.
“IEDs weren’t a big deal until Afghanistan and Iraq,” Demars said.
Herbert later told the outlet there was no IED explosion and no Royal Marines were killed.
Herbert’s account of the attack was also not documented in his DD214 (a discharge or discharge from active duty document given to service members after leaving the military), according to Demars.
Herbert admitted to using an experience Demars shared with him personally about being seriously wounded in Afghanistan that the scammer claimed was his during an interview with the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 2017, the outlet reported.
Demars — a 27-year US Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with Valor — told Herbert when he regained consciousness by hearing the propellers of a medical helicopter coming for him after being wounded.
“I told him that [expletive] story and him [expletive] use it,” Demars told the outlet last year.
After being caught in a lie, Herbert has no choice but to act on his actions.
“I know I hurt Chris a lot,” Herbert told the outlet. “I sincerely apologize to him.”
If convicted, Herbert faces up to five years in prison for making false Purple Heart claims and 10 years in prison for stealing from the US government, according to the DOJ.
Both charges include “a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross profit or loss, whichever is greater.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
