SAVANNAH, GA: Five people affiliated with Georgia dive shops have admitted submitting false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through scuba classes targeting military veterans education benefits.
The five defendants, all of whom have entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court, are owners, managers, and/or instructors at Scooba Shack in Savannah and Richmond Hill, Ga., or at Diver’s Den in St. Marys, Ga., said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Collectively, the five defendants are responsible for defrauding more than $4 million from VA education benefits.
“The scope of the fraud uncovered in this investigation is stunning, particularly when you consider the scheme siphoned funds intended for providing legitimate education assistance to former service members,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “We applaud the work of the VA Office of Inspector General in identifying and halting this fraud.”
As described in court documents, the five defendants worked in various capacities with the businesses and caused false submissions to be made to the VA. The false submissions misstated the businesses’ compliance with VA regulations, dates of students’ attendance, and hours of instructions, among other information. Some of the defendants also participated in creating fictitious scholarship programs to provide the appearance that a required percentage of non-VA students participated in those classes. The businesses billed the VA up to more than...
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