Clarification: PTSD Fake Claims story

Clarification: PTSD Fake Claims story

NEW YORK — In a May 2 story, The Associated Press reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs granted a Gulf War veteran disability benefits for post-traumatic stress in 1996, though the agency was unaware that he had fabricated or exaggerated events cited in his application.

The story was based on VA records which were disclosed as part of a criminal case in which the veteran was eventually convicted of manslaughter.

Since the story appeared, the veteran, Felton Lamar Gray, has provided additional VA records which indicate that the agency later re-examined Gray’s case after learning as a result of the manslaughter proceeding that his application contained unreliable information.

The newly available records show that Gray’s case was reviewed in 1999 by a VA rating board, which recommended that his benefits be stopped because his testimony about events during his military service had “been discredited.”

The rating board’s findings were submitted to the VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, which conducted an administrative review. In 2000, the Compensation and Pension Service overruled the rating board, deciding that even though Gray’s original application may not have been accurate, “The evidence in file does not establish clear error in the grant of service connection for PTSD.”