U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations Washington, DC 20420 (202) 565-7702
Wednesday, 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.