Military spouse kept his second, third marriages a secret and stole $364,000, feds say
A man who was married to a U.S. Army soldier maintained he never remarried after her death in 1994 — but he lied, according to federal prosecutors.
Over the course of nearly 20 years, he stole thousands from a program that pays benefits to spouses of deceased military members by keeping his second and third marriages a secret, prosecutors said.
If a spouse remarries, the Department of Veterans Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation program will stop paying them the benefits, according to officials.
The man, 55, of Citrus County, Florida, lied to the VA about never remarrying and stole $364,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.
He was indicted on a charge of receiving stolen government property, the attorney’s office announced in an April 27 news release.
McClatchy News contacted the man’s attorney for comment on April 28 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
Brother-in-law reports him to the VA
The case dates to November 1995, when the man remarried about a year after the death of his wife who served in the Army, according to prosecutors.
Over the years, the man lied on VA marital status questionnaires, saying he never remarried since 1994, according to an affidavit.
Months after his second marriage ended in July 2022, the man’s brother-in-law from that subsequent marriage revealed he had remarried and told the VA he was wrongfully receiving benefits on Dec. 12, 2022, the affidavit says.
The brother-in-law then revealed even more information about the man, including that the man had been dating his eventual second wife in 1994 while his first wife was alive, during an interview with a special agent from the VA on April 3, 2023, according to the affidavit.
The brother-in-law also told investigators the man remarried again on Feb. 3, 2023, after divorcing his second wife, the affidavit says.
If the man is found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in prison and could be ordered to forfeit at least $364,000, prosecutors said.
Citrus County is located in western Florida, about 75 miles north of Tampa.
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