Veterans
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California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit seeking the removal of officers and directors of Help Hospitalized Veterans, a California charity.
The complaint alleges that those running the organization engaged in self-dealing, paid excessive executive compensation and engaged in fraudulent fundraising and other unlawful activities.
The lawsuit also seeks to recover more than $4.3 million in funds improperly diverted from Help Hospitalized Veterans.
Those funds were meant to support several programs serving veterans and active-duty military, including providing arts and craft kits to hospitalized veterans. Instead, they were used to enrich the organization’s officers and fundraisers.
“The officers of Help Hospitalized Veterans improperly diverted money that hard-working and patriotic Americans donated to support injured vets,” said Attorney General Kamala Harris. “We must protect veterans, active-duty military and donors from scam artists who see them as little more than prey for their financial frauds.”
The lawsuit alleges that the directors and officers of Help Hospitalized Veterans breached their fiduciary duty by wasting its charitable assets on such things as golf memberships and a condominium (for use by officers), and authorizing excessive executive compensation to the group’s former President (Roger Chapin) and its current President (Michael Lynch).
The suit alleges Chapin received more than $2.3 million in excessive compensation during the final seven years of his tenure and excessive compensation to Lynch totaled over $900,000.
Chapin is additionally charged with self-dealing as a result of substantial diversions of the charity’s funds to entities in which he had a financial interest.
Those diversions include loans Help Hospitalized Veterans made to a firm called American Target Advertising, which was making substantial payments to Chapin. American Target Advertising is a for-profit business (founded by Chapin’s close friend Richard Viguerie) that directs Help Hospitalized Veterans’ vast direct-mail fundraising operation.
The lawsuit further alleges that the nonprofit used increasingly-common accounting gimmicks to inflate the amount of income purportedly spent on providing veterans’ services while artificially minimizing the amount reportedly spent on fundraising.
For example, Help Hospitalized Veterans’ use of one of these gimmicks resulted in decreasing its reported fundraising costs from 65 percent of total costs to less than 30 percent.
As a result, the filings to both the IRS and the Attorney General’s office were substantially false. Donors and charity watchdog groups rely on both of those reported expenditure categories in evaluating a charity’s efficiency.
Controversy around the performance of veteran’s charities like Help Hospitalized Veterans was brought to the public’s attention in 2007 by Rep. Henry A. Waxman who, as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Hearings, held hearings into their fundraising practices and overhead.
The lawsuit seeks general and punitive damages, restitution, civil penalties and the removal of those officers and directors named in the lawsuit.
Named defendants in the lawsuit include: Help Hospitalized Veterans; its former president Roger Chapin (California); former employee Elizabeth Chapin (California); current president Michael Lynch (California); the following officers or directors of the charity: Robert Beckley, Jr. (Arizona), Thomas Arnold (Florida), Leonard Rogers (Florida), and Gorham Black (Florida); accountant Robert Frank and the company Frank & Company, PC (Virginia); and direct-mail professional fundraiser Creative Direct Response, Inc. (Maryland).
The complaint alleges seven causes of action: (1) breach of fiduciary duty (against Help Hospitalized Veterans directors and officers); (2) aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty (against Frank and Frank & Co.); (3) engaging in self-dealing transactions in violation of Corporations Code section 5233 (against Chapin); (4) excessive executive compensation in violation of Corporations Code section 5235 (against Chapin and Lynch); (5) wrongful acquisition of property/unjust enrichment (against Chapin and his wife Elizabeth); (6) misrepresentations in solicitations to donors in violation of Government Code section 12599.6 (against Help Hospitalized Veterans, its directors and officers, and Creative Direct Response); and (7) unfair business practices (against all defendants other than Elizabeth Chapin and Creative Direct Response).
More than 2 million of the nation’s 22 million veterans live in California, the highest number for any state. Protecting these veterans, and active-duty military, from financial scams has been a priority for Attorney General Harris. This focus resulted from a survey of veterans who work in the Department of Justice that was undertaken to inform Department efforts on the matter.
Attorney General Harris and Holly Petraeus of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently spoke at Travis Air Force Base to warn of financial scams that target military members.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that 1.67 million veterans and servicemembers have registered for the secure, joint VA-Department of Defense (DoD), self-service Web portal, eBenefits, which provides online information and access to a wide variety of military and veteran benefits resources.
“We know that three out of four veterans who use VA services want to connect online, so we must to be there for them with the information they need,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey. “eBenefits is clearly becoming the platform of choice for veterans seeking access.”
The strong pace of registrations for the site since its launch in October 2009 has allowed VA to exceed its fiscal year 2012 agency priority goal of 1.65 million users, and puts it on track to meet the 2013 goal of 2.5 million users, as outlined for VA in www.performance.gov .
Veterans and servicemembers new to the Web site www.ebenefits.va.gov are guided through the registration process to get a full-access account, called a premier account, which allows maximum ability to update personal information and learn about benefits without having to visit a VA facility.
With the premier account, one password – called a single sign-on – allows veterans to access multiple applications on the secure portion of the Web site.
A premier account also allows veterans to check the status of compensation and pension claims that they have filed with VA. This feature, the most popular within the eBenefits application, had over 700,000 visits in June alone.
Overall, visits to the site have increased 60 percent over the previous year, approaching two million per month.
On July 1, VA introduced its 11th consecutive quarterly release of improved functionalities to the eBenefits application that includes benefits eligibility email messages to servicemembers as they reach career milestones and a new Career Center page with employment self-assessment tools, a resume builder, and a translator that relates military expertise to civilian work skills.
The Career Center, which received over 8,000 visits in its first week, has single sign-on connectivity to VA’s Veteran hiring site, “VA for Vets.”
Another key function added is a single sign-on capability for veterans to transition securely between benefits information on eBenefits and health information on VA’s myHealtheVet Web site without an additional log-on step.
VA has completed a record-breaking 1 million claims per year the last two fiscal years, and is on target to complete another 1 million claims in FY2012.
Even so, too many veterans have to wait too long to get the benefits they have earned and deserve. That is why VA is aggressively building a strong foundation for a paperless, digital disability claims system – a lasting solution that will transform how VA operates and eliminate the backlog.
This plan will help VA achieve Secretary Shinseki’s goal: claim completion in less than 125 days with 98 percent accuracy in 2015 – delivering faster, better decisions for veterans.
With the most recent release, there are now 46 self-service features enabling servicemembers and veterans the ability to download copies of their official VA and military correspondence, including Veterans civil service preference, service verification, benefits verification letters, military records and VA home loan certificates of eligibility.
Servicemembers and veterans can also access records that directly impact their family members, like the Post-9/11 GI Bill enrollment status, VA payment history, and DoD TRICARE health insurance status.
The eBenefits application is a key component in VA’s ongoing transformation to a digital environment for veterans’ benefits delivery. Additional functionality and features will continue to be added to the site throughout the coming months.
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The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has increased its support for California Small Business/Microbusiness (SB/MB) over the last three years, awarding more than $9.5 million in SB/MB contracts in FY 2011-12, according to a Wednesday report.
That represents more than 28 percent of CalVet’s total contract dollars.
In addition, CalVet awarded more than $2 million in Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) contracts, which accounts for more than 6 percent of the Department’s total SB/MB contract dollars.
CalVet’s contracting performance has exceeded the State’s 25% SB/MB goal and more than doubled the State’s 3 percent DVBE goal. CalVet’s contracting efforts also exceeded its own more stringent 5 percent DVBE goal.
“These numbers directly reflect CalVet’s strategic goals because support of small business and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises means jobs for veterans,” said CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett. “It took a lot of work on the part of everyone involved in the procurement process for CalVet to make this happen, and I’m enormously proud of my staff.”
CalVet credits its success to a DVBE/SB first policy which requires buyers to first seek out certified DVBE and SB vendors for any purchases and contracts. This policy requires an approved waiver prior to contracting with other vendors.
Management support of this policy, and the DVBE and SB programs in general, is also critical to exceeding these performance goals.
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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Master Chief Petty Officer Scott Harville recently was selected as a command master chief for Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron VAW-123, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
The squadron is deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Enterprise.
Harville enlisted in the Navy in September 1989.
Following Recruit Training Command in San Diego, Calif., he attended Fireman Apprentice School at Naval Training Center San Diego, Calif.
His first assignment was on board USS Competent in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where he struck for hull technician as an undesignated fireman.
His subsequent tours include a Western Pacific deployment on the USS Samuel Gompers in Alameda, Calif.; USS Frank Cable in Guam; Naval Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pacific North West Detachment in Everett, Everett, Wash., where he was selected as the 2002 Senior Sailor of the Year; USS Laboon in Norfolk, Va., advancing to chief petty officer and earned his first Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) qualification; USS Gunston Hall in Little Creek, Va., where he advanced to senior chief petty officer, earned combat information center watch officer, a second EOOW qualification and completed a cruise to the West Coast of Africa in support of a Joint GWOT exercise; Assault Craft Unit Four in Little Creek, Va., where he advanced to master chief petty officer; and USS Vella Gulf in Norfolk, Va., assigned as the 3MC and completed two Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Mediterranean deployments.
His personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with four Gold Stars and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with four Gold Stars, along with numerous unit and service decorations.
Harville, a 1989 graduate of Upper Lake High School, is the son of Sue Harville and grandson of Doris Harville of Upper Lake, Calif.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – American Legion Post 194 in Kelseyville, Calif., meets at 5 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month.
The post’s next meeting is July 26.
The post is located at 5005 Second St., Kelseyville, telephone 707-279-1349.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Operation Tango Mike will host SUDS-4-SOLDIERS, a car wash on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St., Lakeport.
Suggested donation is $7.
Proceeds will assist in sending support and care packages to troops deployed to combat zones.
Call 707-349-2838 for more information.
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WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the award of nearly $100 million in grants that will help approximately 42,000 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
The grants are going to 151 community agencies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
“We are committed to ending veteran homelessness in America,” said Shinseki. “These grants will help VA and community organizations reach out and prevent at-risk veterans from losing their homes.”
Under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, VA is awarding grants to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing.
Those community organizations provide a range of services that promote housing stability among eligible very low income veteran families.
Under the grants, homeless providers will offer veterans and their family members outreach, case management, assistance in obtaining VA benefits and assistance in getting other public benefits.
Community-based groups can offer temporary financial assistance on behalf of veterans for rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs.
This is the program’s second year. Last year, VA provided about $60 million to assist 22,000 Veterans and family members.
In 2009, President Obama and Secretary Shinseki announced the federal government’s goal to end Veteran homelessness by 2015.
The grants are intended to help accomplish that goal. According to the 2011 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, homelessness among veterans has declined 12 percent since January 2010.
Through the homeless veterans initiative, VA committed $800 million in FY 2011 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. VA provides a range of services to homeless veterans, including health care, housing, job training, and education.
More information about VA’s homeless programs is available on the Internet at www.va.gov/homeless .
Details about the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program are online at www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp .
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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. has appointed Todd Irby as chief counsel at the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I welcome Todd to the CalVet family and look forward to working with him as our chief counsel,” said Peter J. Gravett, CalVet secretary. “I am confident that Todd’s vast expertise and background will be an asset to the department and to our state’s veterans.”
Irby, of Sacramento, has served as deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice since 2007.
He was a private practice attorney from 2006 to 2007 and an associate attorney at The Duffy Law Firm from 2004 to 2006.
Irby was an associate attorney and partner at Hess Verdon and Irby from 1995 to 2004 and an associate attorney at Martin Wilson Fingal and MacDowell from 1994 to 1995.
He was an associate attorney at Garrett and Jensen from 1991 to 1994.
Irby is a member of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court.
He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University School of Law and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Visit CalVet on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/mycalvet and follow the agency at www.twitter.com/mycalvet .
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WASHINGTON, DC – A report released July 10 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reveals that new training initiatives for VA employees who process and evaluate veterans’ disability claims are yielding faster, more accurate decisions for veterans.
“Our training and technology skills programs are now delivering the knowledge and expertise our employees need to succeed in a 21st Century workplace,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We have improved and are expanding training practices to better equip our staff to handle today’s difficult cases.”
In the face of dramatically increasing workloads, VA is vigorously pursuing new and better ways to train its employees in the complex regulations governing VA’s disability compensation program.
Designers of the revamped “Challenge” training model for new decision-makers overhauled the previous curriculum and more than doubled classroom instruction time to eight weeks. Extensive supervised and hands-on learning was added to enable employees to rapidly achieve critical skills and competencies.
Students of the new model completed 150 percent more claims per day, with a 30 percent increase in accuracy, when compared to student performance under the previous program.
To date, more than 1,300 employees have taken the training, which is now in place for all newly appointed or reassigned employees who handle disability claims.
VA has completed a record-breaking 1 million claims per year the last two fiscal years, and is on target to complete another 1 million claims in FY2012.
Even so, too many veterans have to wait too long to get the benefits they have earned and deserve. That is why VA is aggressively building a strong foundation for a paperless, digital disability claims system – a lasting solution that will transform how VA operates and eliminate the backlog.
This plan will help VA achieve Secretary Shinseki’s goal: claim completion in less than 125 days with 98 percent accuracy in 2015 – delivering faster, better decisions for veterans.
Redesign of the Challenge program is just one part of VA’s comprehensive investment in its people. VA has also added Quality Review Teams at each of its 56 regional offices to quickly identify any processing errors made by its employees and provide on-the-spot remedial training at the earliest possible stage in the claims process.
Members of the Quality Review Teams are trained by VA’s national quality assurance staff to ensure local reviews are performed according to national standards. Team members are also certified in management and leadership approaches.
Since implementation earlier this year, the teams have already conducted nearly 60,000 in-process reviews, and decision quality levels are showing significant and steady increases as a result.
VA has also developed a skills certification process to assess employees’ job proficiency in comparison to national performance standards.
Employees who process claims for disability benefits can now link their certification test results to individualized training plans and promotion criteria. This allows VA to target employee training to improve disability claims accuracy at both the individual and national level.
“Through the national certification program, we are raising the skill levels of our core decision-makers and producing greater consistency in claims decisions,” said VA Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey.
To learn more about what VA is doing to prepare its employees to deliver first-rate and timely benefits and services to our Nation’s Veterans, view the full Challenge report at http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/docs/Evaluation-Report.pdf .
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