VAOIG Investigations: Georgia Man
Sentenced for Impersonating Veteran
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 1999
GEORGIA MAN SENTENCED FOR IMPERSONATING VETERAN
Richard J. Griffin, Inspector General (IG), Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), announced today that Alfred Hinton was sentenced in U.S. District Court,
Atlanta, GA, to 24 months' imprisonment, followed by 36 months' probation, and ordered to
pay $40,000 in restitution. The sentencing followed Hinton's December 18, 1998,
guilty plea to defrauding VA. Hinton, who is not a veteran, admitted having assumed
the identity of his deceased twin brother who was a veteran. He admitted to stealing
VA benefit payments issued on behalf of his brother.
For more than 5 years, continuing to use his brother's identity,
Hinton devised several schemes to defraud VA. Following his brother's death, Hinton
endorsed and cashed his brother's VA benefit checks. Hinton also admitted that he
filed numerous false, fictitious, and fraudulent documents in order to obtain a home
mortgage guaranteed by VA. Hinton provided bogus income information and made false
certifications regarding his intentions to occupy the property as his primary residence
when, in fact, family members occupied the property while Hinton lived elsewhere in the
Atlanta area. The property ultimately went into default, which could result in a
potential loss of over $37,000 to
VA.
This prosecution was the result of a joint investigation by the
IG's Southeast Field Office and the Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Gale McKenzie, Atlanta, prosecuted the case.
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