A federal jury convicted a Kansas veteran of wire fraud and theft of government funds in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of disability benefits.
According to court documents, 53 year old Bruce Hay, of Greeley, a U.S. Army veteran and former Osawatomie resident, fraudulently misrepresented and exaggerated the extent of symptoms of a conversion disorder diagnosis in order to receive VA disability benefits that he was not entitled to. Hay claimed he had constant jerking movements, tremors, head-bobs, could walk only with the use of a walker, and could not engage in basic activities.
During VA examinations, he faked and exaggerated physical symptoms. The VA found that Hay was 100% disabled.
However, information collected through surveillance, video footage, photographs, and witness testimony showed Hay’s claims to be false. He engaged in residential construction, threw hay bales on the back of moving trucks, hunted deer, drove regularly, and hauled more than a million pounds of scrap metal without assistance. As a result, Hay fraudulently received more than $450,000 in VA benefits.
A jury found Hay guilty of six counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of theft of government funds.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 27th. Hay faces a maximum of penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
