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UPDATE: VA CONFIRMS EMPLOYEE COMPUTER
TAMPERING
AT REGIONAL OFFICE -- VA says someone
intentionally
entered veterans' claim documents with incorrect
dates,
called "backdating," into an internal database.
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.
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by Larry Scott
As the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA)
shredder and mishandled documents story has unfolded, I wrote a piece
about how easy it is to tamper with electronic files at the VA's Regional
Offices (VAROs). That story is here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf103108-3.htm
The main thrust of the story was a maneuver
called "backdating." That is where a VARO employee can set back the
date on their Windows-based computer and then generate files in the VARO
server that will have that older date.
This can cause numerous problems for a veteran
who has filed a claim with the VARO. "Backdating" can be used to
show that a veteran's paperwork was received on a specific date. It
can also be used to phony-up letters that were never sent to a veteran.
Here's an example from the previous article on
how this can work:
"Understand that it is quite easy to end an
appeal by simply stating that a letter was sent to the veteran and
required a response in 60 days. This letter will 90 - 95 % of the time,
never be scanned or even acknowledged as being sent, yet the appeal will
be decided after the letter was 'never returned' because it was actually
never mailed to the veteran."
VA officials have been mum about this aspect of
the paperwork mishandling fiasco... until now.
 An
article in the Albany Times Union (New York) details problems
related to the New York VARO.
The VA said the "backdating" "...would
make it look like they were processing claims faster than they really
were," then added that no veterans' claims were affected.
How can this be? How can a veteran not be
affected if the dates are being changed on their paperwork?
The only way this would not affect a claim is if
the person were "backdating" in an isolated report program not related to
an actual claim. But, that's not what the article says. It
says: "...intentionally entered veterans' claim documents with
incorrect dates..."
Someone is not being straight with us here. Once again, the VA's lack of candor is appalling.
We will learn more about this at the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing coming up next week or the week
after. Chairman Bob Filner (C-CA) has assured me this issue WILL be
on the table.
Below is the story from the Albany Times Union.
Story here...
http://timesunion.c
om/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=738821
---------------
VA probes New York office on handling of
veterans' claims
By SCOTT WALDMAN
Staff writer
A high-ranking U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrator has been
placed on paid leave in the wake of an investigation into his office.
Joseph Collorafi was suspended last month as chief of Veteran's Affairs at
the New York City regional VA office, said Keith Thompson, current acting
director of the office.
An initial investigation revealed that someone in the regional office
intentionally entered veterans' claim documents with incorrect dates --
called "backdating" -- into an internal database, VA spokeswoman Alison
Aikele said Wednesday.
"They would make it look like they were processing claims faster than they
really were," said Aikele, who works in Washington, D.C. Changing the
dates would make it appear as if the management was not "severely
underperforming," according to Aikele.
She said the leadership of the office in Manhattan was replaced and the
individuals who left would not be returning. She said no veterans were
affected by the backdating.
Collorafi, 62, who lives in Guilderland, commuted on Amtrak to his job
which pays about $135,000 a year.
James O'Neill, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the
Department of Veterans Affairs, said there was a subsequent investigation
involving the shredding of documents.
"We're looking at a couple of facilities to determine whether the
shredding that occurred was intentional or not," O'Neill said. Destroying
or altering federal documents could be a criminal offense.
O'Neill did not confirm or deny whether Collorafi's leave was linked to
that probe.
Collorafi declined repeated requests for comment on this story. His
attorney, Peter Noone, said the investigation was not related to Collorafi.
"I'm not sure that has anything to do with him," Noone said.
This week, two veterans groups filed a lawsuit in District of Columbia
federal court, claiming the VA takes too long to process veterans'
disability claims.
The agency averages at least six months per claim , the process can
stretch to a year, and appeals can take up to four years on average,
according to the suit filed Monday by the Vietnam Veterans of America and
the Veterans of Modern Warfare.
In recent weeks, 41 of the 57 regional VA offices across the country have
come under scrutiny over the possible shredding of supporting evidence in
claims filed by veterans. Next week, the Democratic chairman of the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Rep. Bob Filner of California, will
hold a hearing on the destruction of the records.
The New York City regional office serves 800,000 veterans living in 31
counties.
In 1987, while he was a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard,
Collorafi was investigated by the FBI amid accusations that he
fraudulently claimed payment for training. The investigation centered on
whether Collorafi and another officer, William F. McIntosh, filed requests
for training pay even though no training had occurred. The alleged
incident -- which involved a total of $1,500 -- occurred years earlier
when Collorafi was director of the New York Guard's recruitment program, a
post he held from 1980-85.
The outcome of that case was not immediately known.
O'Neill said the investigation into shredding at the New York regional
office in Manhattan could take months.
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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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