Federal prosecutors say Dr. William Weeks participated in five fixed-price contracts between the VA and Dartmouth College.

by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org

As reported last month:

Dr. William Weeks is well-known in the VA system as an advocate for better care for rural veterans.

"The VA by necessity has tended to put its resources in high-density populations centers even though the veterans of this war with the greatest needs are in rural areas," said William Weeks, a VA health services researcher in Vermont. "It has caused a unique challenge in this war."

The bottom line, according to Weeks: "Veterans who live in rural settings have worse healthcare and have greater healthcare needs."

Weeks has also partnered with Dartmouth for research on returning veterans.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq early in 2003, and later that year when the insurgency arose, it wasn't just soldiers in the field who were hurting. Something was happening to young veterans back home —they were hurting not physically, but mentally. That was the finding of a recent study by researchers at the DMS- affiliated VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.

But, Weeks may have angered some with research about directing veterans to high-performance private hospitals for care.

Redirecting VA enrollees' private sector care to high performance hospitals could save a substantial number of lives...

Weeks is suing the VA and a number of employees.

Now, Weeks is facing federal charges of potential conflict of interest regarding his research at Dartmouth.

This is an interesting chicken-and-egg story:  Did the government come after Weeks when he sued?  Or did Weeks sue because the government came after him?  It appears to be the latter ... but, I'm sure we'll find out in Court.

The latest is below:

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VA doctor faces federal charges

By JOSH O’GORMAN STAFF WRITER

BURLINGTON — A doctor associated with the VA Medical Center in White River Junction is facing federal conflict of interest charges related to contracts between the Veterans Affairs and Dartmouth College.

On Friday, acting U.S. Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf charged Dr. William Weeks, 49, of Lyme, N.H., with five misdemeanor counts of violating federal law prohibiting conflicts of interest.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, in 2003, Weeks participated in five fixed-price contracts between the VA Medical Center and Dartmouth College. For each of the contracts, the charges allege, Weeks acted as both the VA representative who initiated the contracts and as Dartmouth College's principal investigator who performed the work of the contracts.

By filling both roles, the charges allege, Weeks was responsible for both making sure the work was performed and overseeing how the contract money was spent. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, a significant amount of the contract money was not used for the contracted work, but was instead deposited into a reserve account at Dartmouth College associated with Weeks.

Representatives for Dartmouth could not be reached for comment Friday night.

The investigation appears to be motivation for a lawsuit Weeks filed against the federal government April 9, which alleges his offices at the VA Hospital were searched illegally and information about the federal investigation was improperly shared with his superiors, scuttling his chance at a promotion.

According to the lawsuit, the lost promotion led Weeks to try and kill himself. Weeks could not be reached for comment Friday night.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Weeks began working at the VA Medical Center in 1992 and was still employed there in April, according to VA officials and his lawsuit. It is not clear if he is still employed by the VA. Officials with the VA could not be reached for comment Friday night.

In addition to the five-count criminal complaint, Weeks is also facing an 11-count civil complaint alleging conflict of interest, false claims and breach of fiduciary duty. If convicted of the offenses, he is facing prison time and $1.8 million in fines and penalties.

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KEYWORDS: veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Dr. William Weeks, White River Junction, Dartmouth College