US veteran lied about disability for over 20 years

Christopher Stultz (49) was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday after receiving more than $660,000 in disability benefits to which he was not entitled, according to the office of the US Attorney General for New Hampshire, according to CNN.

For over 20 years, Stultz pretended he couldn’t walk to get veterans’ disability benefits.

A year after joining the US Navy in 1995, Stultz suffered a spinal cord injury after falling off a horse. According to court documents, he was discharged in 1999 and was given partial disability benefits by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The injury got worse in the following years, and in 2003 Stultz could no longer use both legs. At least this was the story the veteran served the VA.

Watch video: Here he steals the ambulance

Went five on

The social security office went five times and assessed Stultz as 100 per cent disabled. This increased the monthly payments to the Americans. In addition, he also received cars adapted for wheelchair users to a value of almost 190,000 dollars (around two million kroner), according to public prosecutor Jane Young.

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However, the cars were not entirely to Stultz’s taste, who, according to prosecutors, sold them for cash.

In addition to the prison sentence, Stultz was ordered to pay the full amount he has received – 662,872 dollars (7.2 million kroner) – in compensation.

– This is one of the most serious cases of benefit fraud ever prosecuted in this state. The defendant lied to the VA for 20 years to get disability benefits he was not entitled to, said Jane Young, United States Attorney for New Hampshire, Young.

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Stultz has now pleaded guilty to having given false statements.

Folded the wheelchair together

The investigation into Christopher Stultz began after reports came in that he had been observed several times walking in public without the alleged disability.

For example, Stultz is said to have turned up at a VA building in Boston in a wheelchair in 2021. When the American then came out to the parking lot again, he is said to have stood up, folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk. He then went to a nearby shopping center where he is said to have entered several shops.

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Former employers and acquaintances are said to have said that the 49-year-old walked normally and was in good physical shape. Furthermore, several people are said to have said that they had never seen Stultz use either a wheelchair or other aids all the way back to the early 2000s.

However, the investigation has shown that the veteran has a mental disorder which means that he pretends to have a physical illness. According to Stultz’s lawyer, a psychologist believes that this disorder has probably played a role in his behavior over the past two decades.