Pension Poachers Scamming Veterans Get Off Scot-Free.

Bernie Madoff may be behind bars, but there are still plenty of phony financial planners out there looking to pad their own pockets with other people’s pension benefits—and this time they’re targeting our nation’s veterans.

That’s right, these pension poachers are illicitly charging fees to manage benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). These fraudsters are ripping off men and women who have worn our nation’s uniform.

Instead of receiving the hard-earned benefits they are entitled to, our veterans are getting stuck with fake fees.

And the worst part? These pension poachers are getting off scot-free – zero accountability.

So what can we do? Well first, Congress needs to realize they’re at fault here. Since they decided to remove the penalties for advising veterans without proper licensing, we’ve seen hundreds of organizations target vulnerable veterans.

In one case, a scammer who caused harm to a disabled veteran was only ordered to pay a fine of $1...that’s less than a parking ticket!  Folks, this is outrageous and cannot continue.

You’d think the department tasked with supporting our veterans would do something to stop this. Yet, the VA, has made no real effort to crack down on this ugly practice or shield unsuspecting veterans from these shams.

But Congress isn’t off the hook either. For years, lawmakers of both parties have failed to act on the problem, or even made it worse. There’s simply no excuse for that.

November Squeal Award: the VA & Congress

That's why I’m awarding my November Squeal Award to both the VA and lawmakers in Congress (of either party) for failing to do enough to protect veterans from pension poaching, and allowing federal dollars to be subjected to financial exploitation.

But it doesn’t stop there. I’m also taking legislative action. Through the Financial Refuge for Every Elderly (FREE) Veteran Act, a bill I proudly cosponsored, we are holding these scammers accountable and assisting veterans who have fallen prey to these predators to recover unreasonable fees. If you don’t have a proper license to provide assistance, advice, or representation to veterans regarding their benefits, you better believe you’ll face a fine at a minimum and potentially imprisonment.

There’s nothing more devious than taking advantage of elderly and disabled veterans who fought and sacrificed so much for our country. That’s why I’m fighting to make sure these pension-poaching organizations can no longer pad their pockets at the expense of my fellow veterans.

Do you have an example of government waste or inefficiencies that I should take a look at? Send me an email by clicking here.

Thank you!