How ‘claim sharks’ cost Ohio veterans thousands as they seek VA benefits

For-profit, unaccredited veterans’ claims services, often dubbed “claim sharks” by veterans’ affairs officials, are violating federal law by charging Ohio veterans thousands of dollars in fees — in many cases far higher than the benefits they receive — when they file disability claims. 

Many of these organizations are at work in Akron, said Larry Moore, the director of the Veterans Service Commission of Summit County, even though area veterans can receive help with their applications from the commission for free. 

“Claim sharks” exploit the complex and time-consuming nature of the VA claims process while promising to help veterans obtain or increase their benefits, according to the Veterans Legal Center. They frequently assert that if a veteran works with them, approval of their claim is guaranteed. 

Ohio House Bill 708 would govern the practices of providing veterans with claim consulting assistance. While the bill would set limits on some of the unaccredited services’ practices, such as charging more than $5 to obtain a military discharge record, it would allow the agencies to lock veterans into contracts. 

They could also charge up to five times the monthly increase in the amount awarded to a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in compensation for their work on the claim.

The legislation doesn’t explain exactly what the “five times” language in the bill means, said David Root, the state legislative chair for Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ohio. “That’s currently something that needs to be addressed if [the legislation] goes too much further.” 

“I’m afraid that, ultimately, they’ll be able to charge the biggest amount that they can, which is what they’ve been doing all along,” he said of the unaccredited agencies. 

Currently, each agency runs its operations differently, Root explained. “There’s nothing requiring them to do a specific thing, so they can do pretty much whatever they want without any penalties, which is ridiculous.”

HB708 “doesn’t have enough penalties” for the unaccredited agencies, and “they can still operate as unaccredited representatives, and that’s something that we definitely cannot accept,” Root said. 

Akron Documenters discovered this story at various Summit County Veterans Service Commission board meetings.

For example, under HB708’s current language, if a veteran receives a disability benefits check for $180.42 a month, which is 10% on the VA’s sliding benefit scale, and has a contract with an unaccredited organization, the organization could charge them $902.10. Whether the veteran would pay the amount every month for a period of time or as a one-time payment would depend on their contract with the claim shark — it’s unclear if HB708 would change that, Root said. 

Some of the unaccredited agencies also receive compensation based on benefit increases a veteran receives at a later time, which means the payments can go even higher. And, Root said, some veterans can’t get assistance from legitimate service providers after they’re locked into a contract with an unaccredited agency.

“There’s so many things they’re doing that are totally wrong. I couldn’t begin to list them all,” he said. “It’s really hurting those veterans that do fall into that trap and sign that contract with them.” 

Bill’s sponsor says veterans should be protected, have choices

Rep. Steve Demetriou (R), who represents Ohio House District 35, is a co-sponsor of HB 708 along with 22 others, including Akron-area Rep. Jack Daniels. Demetriou said he supports the bill because he wants to protect veterans and that it puts “guardrails” on assistance provided by unaccredited organizations.

“Veterans should be protected from anyone who would mislead them, overcharge them, or take advantage of a complicated claims process,” Demetriou said in a statement emailed to Signal Akron. 

“At the same time, protecting veterans also means respecting their ability to make their own decisions,” he said. 

The pending legislation “puts clear guardrails in place for private assistance, including written agreements and disclosures, limits on fees, prohibitions against guaranteeing benefits, and requirements that payment be tied to a successful increase in benefits,” Demetriou said.

Victoria Collier is a co-owner of Patriot Angels, a private company that assists veterans with long-term-care plans, pension claims and appeals. She is an accredited attorney with the VA who said agencies like hers get lumped into the “claim sharks” category, even though they operate within the legal parameters set by the VA.

She is concerned HB 708 will restrict services that veterans’ families choose to purchase.

Her private agency, which is unaccredited because federal law restricts accreditation to recognized nonprofit, state, county or tribal groups, charges veterans for consultations related to pre-filing claims and long-term-care assessment. They do not charge, Collier said, to file benefits claims or charge afterward for anything that is claim-related.

Collier said her agency is “100 percent aligned with bills that want to protect veterans from fraud and other such things.” But bills like HB708, she said, “are overarching, and they prevent consumers from being able to decide who they want to use, even after adequate disclosures have been made.”

HB 708 is currently sitting in a House committee and has not moved forward since Feb. 25, shortly after it was introduced. 

Here’s what Ohio House Bill 708 would require 

The current version of the bill would:

• Limit what unaccredited organizations can charge to no more than $5 to obtain military discharge records, called a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, on behalf of the veteran. 
• Require that both parties sign off on an acknowledgement of where free services are available and how to contact the local veterans service commission.
• Require that the unaccredited organizations provide a contract that states the fee amount and that they are not accredited. The contract must also state the solicitor’s name and address.
• Require that unaccredited organizations share with the county recorder’s office where the solicitation of the veteran occurred along with a copy of the contract. 

HB 708 would limit how agencies can go about finding vets

The bill also sets limits on how the agencies soliciting the veterans for their business can find and assist them. 

If the bill passes, such agencies could not:

• Utilize call or data centers to find veterans’ personal information.
• Receive compensation for referrals. 
• Guarantee a successful outcome or specific amount of benefits.
• Use a veteran’s personal log-in information to access medical, financial and government benefits information.

To avoid situations similar to this, Ohio veterans can receive benefits and file claims through the Summit County Veterans Service Commission to avoid debt accumulation and any possible fees associated with claims. The wait time after filing a claim is less than 180 days.

Ohio House Bill 961 could add more protections for veterans 

Ohio House Bill 961, introduced shortly after HB 708, would penalize unaccredited organizations that assist veterans with submitting claims, said Rep. Sean Brennan (D), who represents Ohio House District 14 in the Cleveland area.

“All we want to do is make it clear that Ohio is going to uphold federal law, and if you are helping veterans, that you have to be accredited, and if you’re not, there are going to be penalties involved under Ohio law,” Brennan said.

There are currently no penalties for the unaccredited agencies, he said, calling their activities “illegal.”