‘Blind’ NC vet got $1M in benefits while teaching archery, feds say. He pleaded guilty
July 25, 2021 Hayley Fowler - Miami Herald
A 57-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs out of close to $1 million over three decades while claiming to be legally blind.
In reality, prosecutors said, John Paul Cook had his driver’s license and often drove around his hometown of Alexander in Western North Carolina. He was also a certified range officer for BB guns and archery in the Boy Scouts of America and taught land navigation, which required reading maps and using a compass.
Cook faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said.
As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to forfeit $978,138.60.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/07/blind-nc-vet-got-1m-in-benefits-while-teaching-archery-feds-say-he-pleaded-guilty/
