Summary: Colonel Robert “Bob” Hayes, a highly decorated US Army veteran who retired after three decades of service, became the perfect target for organized crime. This is the infuriating story of a sophisticated identity theft and VA scam that wiped out his life savings, destroyed his credit, and forced the Colonel—who dedicated his life to integrity—to defend his own honor in a crippling lawsuit. The failure of protective agencies to intervene showcases a devastating systemic vulnerability that allows predators to exploit America’s heroes.
Chapter 1: The Lure of the Predator
Colonel Robert Hayes (Ret.), 65, was enjoying a quiet retirement funded by his military pension and his VA disability benefits. He was meticulous with his finances, but no amount of caution could prepare him for the coordinated assault of a professional scamming operation specializing in Veteran Identity Theft.
The criminal group used stolen data to create a near-perfect duplicate of Bob’s military identity. They targeted his life insurance policy and, crucially, secured unauthorized loans using his veteran status as leverage, exploiting programs meant to help, not harm, those who served.
Chapter 2: The Erased Savings
The first sign was devastating: the monthly deposit of his VA disability compensation vanished. When Bob called the VA, he was met with bureaucratic apathy. He was told there was an “internal conflict with the recipient’s bank information.” Meanwhile, the scammers had funneled his funds into offshore accounts.
Within weeks, not only was his disability fund empty, but Bob’s personal bank account, which had co-mingled funds from his retirement, was cleaned out. He lost nearly every penny he had saved, leaving him financially crippled and reliant on social security alone.
Chapter 3: The Lawsuit: An Insult to Injury
The betrayal worsened when the fraudulent loans taken out in his name defaulted. Bob was not just a victim of theft; he became the primary defendant in a massive civil lawsuit filed by a national lender. The lender argued that since the perpetrator presented Bob’s genuine military ID and service records, the liability belonged to the “account holder.”
Imagine: a Colonel who upheld the UCMJ for three decades, suddenly sitting in a courtroom, treated by the legal system as a fraudster. His reputation, built on honor and service, was being dragged through the mud. His attempts to get a military lawyer were complicated by red tape; his reports to the FBI were treated as “low priority.” The system was designed to protect the rich, not the righteous.
Chapter 4: Systemic Betrayal
Bob’s case is a painful example of how the very agencies meant to safeguard veterans—the VA, credit bureaus, and law enforcement—are woefully inadequate against sophisticated Veteran scams. They dismissed his desperate calls, demanding proof that was impossible to provide, effectively making the victim responsible for proving his innocence.
The deep-seated outrage comes from the fact that Colonel Hayes protected his country from foreign threats, yet domestic criminals were allowed to dismantle his life with complete impunity. His rank, his medals, and his sacrifice were not protection; they were a target.
Colonel Hayes’s honor is on the line. We demand a full, priority investigation from the VA and the FBI into this clear case of identity theft targeting a decorated officer. Share this story and demand that our government stops treating victims of Veteran Scams as collateral damage!
