16 Agencies Scammed, and No One Noticed

A former National Guard veteran is going to jail for a long-running scam that netted him more than $750,000.

The big question is how this could involve 16 different government agencies and have gone on for so many years. Those agencies included the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Commerce, Social Security Administration and his state’s employment security department.

The scam started in 2005 when Darryl Wright was serving in Iraq as part of the National Guard. A rocket landed some considerable distance away, and no one was injured. Wright, however, took it as an opportunity to cash in, beginning with using a fake photo of a damaged vehicle as part of his claim.

Among the many ways Wright had his hand out for money:

• His sister was recruited as his caregiver and was paid big money. The claim was that he was so disabled he couldn’t even tie his shoes. Their mother was apparently in on the scam as well, falsifying nursing documents.

• While Wright was claiming that he couldn’t even get out of bed two-to-five days a week, he was coaching a high-school team and playing basketball. He also was employed full time at the Department of Commerce.

• He then claimed disability at his Commerce job, defrauding the Office of Personnel Management, and turned in fake orders about being on military leave. He defrauded the state by claiming unemployment and used his alleged disability to keep from paying his student loans, defrauding the Department of Education.

The only person to catch on was a co-worker at Commerce who discovered the fake military-leave documents. Wright threatened a lawsuit, and as a result Commerce tried to suspend the co-worker. She had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to defend herself.

And did I mention that Wright also pushed for and received a Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge?