A veteran who lost both legs and a hand in Iraq in 2004 is now being told he owes the Department of Veterans Affairs $4,000,
Breitbart News reported.
Former Airman Brian Kolfage last September when received a letter from the VA saying that he had been overpaid, according to Breitbart.
The triple amputee called the VA and said he hadn't overpaid and then followed it up with paperwork the agency required. The department said that Kolfage never notified them of his divorce four months earlier and even though he had now remarried, they had been overpaying him during that window.
Kolfage told Breitbart that: "If veterans fail to inform the VA of a marital status change 'within a year' of the change, they owe the agency back pay from that point forward – 'even if it's ten years down the road.'"
While Kolfage's lapse equaled only about $100 in overpayment, the VA is calculating the time elapsed until the agency finally discovered it, according to Breitbart.
Kolfage enlisted the help of Arizona Rep. Ron Barber. His office was told by the VA debt center that Kolfage needed to send in a form and "a statement about why [he] didn't think he owed the money," Breitbart said. But shortly after, Kolfage got another letter saying the money he owed would start coming out of his checks. And when Kolfage called to ask what was going on, he was informed that the VA got the cover letter, but since the form attached to it never came through, the agency couldn’t do anything about it.
Breitbart first reported on Kolfage
on Nov. 11. Now, Kolfage has been told he has also been overpaid for educational benefits during that period and he may owe another $2,000.
"Even though the VA knows the status change was for three months, they are basically shafting me," Kolfage told Breitbart.
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