A soldier from New Hampshire has acknowledged lying about needing a wheelchair for 20 years in order to collect almost $660,000 in benefits that he was not eligible for. On Thursday, Christopher Stultz, 49, of Antrim entered a guilty plea to one count of making false statements in US District Court.
On May 6, he will get a punishment that carries a potential five-year jail term. According to the US attorney's office, Stultz began claiming he could not use his feet in 2003. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs increased Stultz's monthly payments and classified him as 100% handicapped. The AP claims he allegedly received funding for the purchase and modification of special autos.
Prosecutors added that although Stultz was strolling regularly, he was "surveilled on many times." He used a wheelchair inside a VA medical facility in Boston in 2021, but prosecutors claimed that after leaving the facility, he got up, put the wheelchair into his vehicle, went to a mall, and browsed the different shops. They added that when he got out of a Manchester VA hospital institution the next year, he did something similar.
Prosecutors noted that some witnesses said they had not seen Stultz use a wheelchair in the previous 20 years.
On May 6, he will get a punishment that carries a potential five-year jail term. According to the US attorney's office, Stultz began claiming he could not use his feet in 2003. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs increased Stultz's monthly payments and classified him as 100% handicapped. The AP claims he allegedly received funding for the purchase and modification of special autos.
Prosecutors added that although Stultz was strolling regularly, he was "surveilled on many times." He used a wheelchair inside a VA medical facility in Boston in 2021, but prosecutors claimed that after leaving the facility, he got up, put the wheelchair into his vehicle, went to a mall, and browsed the different shops. They added that when he got out of a Manchester VA hospital institution the next year, he did something similar.
Prosecutors noted that some witnesses said they had not seen Stultz use a wheelchair in the previous 20 years.
