A former U.S. Marine from western Massachusetts was arrested following an indictment in federal courtroom alleging he had lied about his service experiences to obtain incapacity advantages and even tried for a Purple Heart he hadn’t earned.
Paul John Herbert, 52, of Shelburne Falls, was arrested Friday following an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury sitting in Springfield the day earlier than. The indictment fees him with theft of presidency property and making false statements. He was launched from custody following an preliminary look in courtroom.
“Individuals who steal veterans disability benefits and falsely represent themselves as decorated veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces degrade the service of the men and women who selflessly serve our country,” stated Patrick Hegarty, the particular agent in command of the U.S. Department of Defense, investigative service for the northeast, in an announcement.
The false assertion cost carries a most penalty of 5 years in jail, whereas the theft cost carries double the years.
The indictment states the suspect actions occurred between Jan. 1, 2010, via March 1 of this yr.
During that point, the indictment alleges, Herbert stole about $344,040 value of incapacity advantages from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
It additionally alleges that he submitted, via his native congressman, a written request for a Purple Heart award to the U.S. Marine Corps. For this prestigious honor, Herbert purportedly claimed that he had suffered a traumatic mind damage from a roadside explosion whereas deployed to Northern Iraq.
The Purple Heart is a fight award introduced to “members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy,” or awarded to next-of-kin ought to the recipient be killed in obligation, in response to the Military Order Of The Purple Heart.
“Mr. Herbert’s alleged conduct is an affront to every veteran who has sacrificed to earn the honor of a Purple Heart and who is deserving of disability benefits,” stated U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy.
A person matching Herbert’s title, normal location and with a narrative matching the fees alleged on this indictment was lined by the native newspaper for his area, the Greenfield Recorder, in August if final yr.
That story states that the native Veterans Services supplier, the Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Service District, had launched its personal investigation into Herbert’s claims following a speech he had made recalling reminiscences of warfare that didn’t match these documented in his discharge papers.
Those tales included being the only real survivor of an improvised explosive machine (IED) assault in northern Iraq — a declare a pacesetter of the Service District discovered notably incredulous as a result of “IEDs were not a thing until Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”