Busted: Veteran’s “Guardian” Scheme Ruled Illegal by Federal Court
My, my, my. What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. I have wrote a few articles, here and there about the importance of accreditation. It’s like hiring an undertaker with no embalming license. It sounds gross and creepy. A federal court decision dropped the hammer on Veterans Guardian, with Chief District Judge Catherine C. Eagles ruling flatly that the company’s “we’re just consultants” routine was an illegal run around of the law. You want to ensure the person who is helping with your VA claim has undergone basic character and fitness assessments and can pass a basic test of competency. It isn’t some wild idea. We do it for doctors, accountants, lawyers, engineers, the list goes on. You want to ensure the person doing a fairly important job (cutting you open, designing a bridge) has the basic skillsets to carry out those tasks.
Well, Veteran’s “Guardian” has amassed quite the war chest of gold. A federal court has finally ruled that nonsense illegal, and Veterans are likely due some bullion back.
“Consulting” vs. “Preparing” Claims
Federal law is explicitly clear. No individual or entity may assist in preparing or presenting claims for VA benefits unless they are formally accredited by the VA. Furthermore, accredited agents and attorneys are strictlys prohibited from charging fees to file an initial disability claim, and our fees are closely regulated. Veterans Guardian—which is completely unaccredited—attempted to bypass these rules by labeling its work as “consulting services.” Their standard practice involves gathering up military and VA treatment records, filing out VA forms, helping you draft lay statements, and packing it all up for the VA to mail off. Wait a minute, though, Veterans Guardian claimed that because the Veterans ultimately signed and mailed the forms themselves, their company wasn't actually “preparing” or “presenting” claims to the VA. Not so. The Court forcefully rejected this argument. Chief Judge Eagles noted that changing the label of a service doesn't change the reality of the work being done. Because Veterans Guardian did all the background work, medical research, and form completion, they were actively “preparing” claims in direct violation of federal law.
Because Veterans Guardian hid its involvement from the VA by instructing veterans not to mention their company, its fee structures bypassed regular federal oversight and left many Veterans with no avenue to protest a stupidly large fee.
Copy of Chief Judge Eagles’ Order
"The label that Guardian attaches to its services is not controlling; the reality of the work done is what matters." — Chief District Judge Catherine C. Eagles
Shocking Fees Exposed
The court’s order exposed how much the company was charging vulnerable Veterans for its unaccredited assistance, operating on a contingency fee equal to five times the monthly benefit increase. One Plaintiff, Eric Beard, was charged an astounding $21,360. For reference, if I were to earn a fee like that, it would be years worth of backpay. Likely the result of uncovering a huge VA error. Those types of fees often take 70-80 hours worth of legal and file research to get right. For Veterans “Guardian,” just another pay day. Even worse, this was on an initial claim. Had I done that for you, my fee would have been $0.
Veterans Guardian also knew when you got paid. How so, you might ask? Well, because they had your social, DOB, and the rest of the works, they would call up the VA’s automated phone system, punch in your social, a few other buttons, and suddenly a computer was telling them your payment history. Time to send him an invoice! “During the class period, Guardian employees called the VA pay verification phone number over 250,000 times…Guardian determines its clients’ fees using their rating decision letters…Supplemented by information obtained from calls to the VA’s pay verification number.”
The court ruled definitively that Veterans Guardian acts as an unaccredited agent and collects illegal fees under federal law. The judge granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs (Veterans) on these specific issues and denied Veterans Guardian’s cross-motion for summary judgment, meaning the case will move forward in favor of Veterans
Remember, the application for accreditation is free. All you have to do is apply and agree not to charge caboodles of money. They chose not to, and did so on purpose.
Boy, karma is a. Well, you know what it is.
Godspeed.
