|
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
Be sure to get all four
VA Watchdog dot Org
RSS feeds --
Daily VA
News Flashes
House CVA
Veterans' News
Senate CVA
Veterans' News
VA Press
Releases
Download your
free copy of the
2008 VA benefits
handbook here...
|
Printer-Friendly Version
UPDATE: VA AUDIT FINDS OVER 50% OF CLAIMS
AT NEW
YORK OFFICE HAD DATES CHANGED -- Employees told
VA
investigators that their supervisor had
instructed them to enter
incorrect dates, and that the practice was widely
known.
All stories regarding the VA's shredder and
document handling scandal can be found on this page... click here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm
Your comments accepted at bottom of page.
-------------------------
by Larry Scott
Just when we thought it couldn't get any
worse.....
It appears that Newsday got an advance
copy of the VA's Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) report about
wrongdoing at the New York
 Regional
Office (VARO) of the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA).
We have been reporting on this for some time.
All VA shredder and mishandled document articles are here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm
What we don't know, from the article below, is
how the date changing was done. But, it appears to be "backdating,"
or electronic tampering, something mentioned in a previous article about
problems at the New York VARO. That article is here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfno
v08/nf111308-1.htm
This story is just the tip of the iceberg.
If the VAOIG had the manpower to pounce on all 57 VAROs at the same time, I'm sure they
would find dating irregularities at all of them.
"Culture of Corruption" is the only way to
describe the workings of the VBA.
Latest story is here...
http://www.newsday.
com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-liva222
35939106nov23,0,5524668.story
Story below:
---------------
VA removes leaders of New York regional office
BY MARTIN C. EVANS
martin.evans@newsday.com
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reassigned the director of its
New York regional office after finding that employees there misdated
hundreds of claims to make it appear they were being processed on time.
Without referring by name to the New York director, Patricia
Amberg-Blyskal, VA spokeswoman Alison Aikele said last week that the
director and five other top managers were ousted after investigators
discovered a pattern of deception in the handling of claims at the
regional headquarters at 245 W. Houston St. in Manhattan.
"It was systematically enough of a problem that we removed the
leadership," Aikele said.
The shake-up at the New York regional office, which serves 800,000 vets
living in eastern New York State, came as veterans organizations and
members of Congress have criticized the federal agency for mishandling,
losing or destroying the benefits claims of veterans.
"The reports of date changing and document shredding at the N.Y. regional
VA office are unacceptable and insulting to those who served our country,"
said Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) in a prepared statement.
A summary of an investigation by the VA obtained by Newsday showed that of
20 claims examined by VA investigators at the New York office during a
July visit, 16 had been marked with apparently phony dates to suggest
their processing had begun within the required seven days of their
arrival.
A wider audit in August showed that 56.4 percent of claims carried
incorrect intake dates, according to the summary, which was dated Nov. 10.
According to the summary, several employees told VA investigators that
their supervisor had instructed them to enter incorrect dates, and that
the practice was widely known.
VA investigators also found that the New York office has ignored
"significant amounts" of its mail, officials said. An Oct. 6 visit by
investigators, for example, turned up 700 pieces of mail that had not been
acted upon. Aikele also said investigators recovered at least five
documents related to claims that had been improperly placed in shredder
bins.
On Friday, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) wrote to Veterans Affairs Secretary
James Peak, asking to be apprised of the situation in the New York
Regional Office.
Amberg-Blyskal did not reply to a reporter's requests for an interview.
The summary said "the director and assistant director were initially
placed on administrative leave but now have been detailed to other work
sites to complete assigned projects." Four other managers were placed on
administrative leave, according to the summary.
Last week, two veterans organizations filed a lawsuit in Federal District
Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to force the VA to handle benefits
claims more quickly, saying veterans often wait a year before their
applications are processed, and as long as four years for appeals.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
-------------------------
-------------------------
NOTE FOR COMMENTING:
Comments are moderated. VA Watchdog dot Org
has no obligation to post any comment and will not post rude, profane,
libelous, or off-subject comments ... comments advertising products,
services or web sites ... or comments containing misinformation that might
pose a disservice to the veterans' community.
-------------------------
Don't forget to read all of today's VA
News Flashes (click here)
Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage
email Larry
(go
back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page) |
Military
Medical Malpractice
Legal
Network
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
|
