If you suspect that someone has committed military benefit fraud then you have an obligation to report your observations to the correct authority. In the US, this is to the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Inspector General Hotline (VAOIG).
There are several steps you need to take however before you report the fraud and the first of these is to gather all the key information you require to make the complaint, namely:
A key aspect of your written account is that it should not contain any claims in it that are unsubstantiated and for which there is no direct evidence. You can include information you saw and heard, but you should not include any judgment you made about the situation or peoples involved. Stick to the facts as you saw them.
Once you have collected this key information and have your written account, you can contact the VAOIG Hotline in four ways, via phone, mail, fax or email.
There are several steps you need to take however before you report the fraud and the first of these is to gather all the key information you require to make the complaint, namely:
- The name of the military facility or office involved with the claim (if you know)
- The name of the person(s) who are suspected of committing the fraud (other information can be provided if known, such as home address)
- The name of any victims of the fraud (if applicable)
A key aspect of your written account is that it should not contain any claims in it that are unsubstantiated and for which there is no direct evidence. You can include information you saw and heard, but you should not include any judgment you made about the situation or peoples involved. Stick to the facts as you saw them.
Once you have collected this key information and have your written account, you can contact the VAOIG Hotline in four ways, via phone, mail, fax or email.
- To call the VAOIG Hotline free of charge, dial (800) 488 8244 between 08:30 and 14:00, Monday to Friday. The Hotline is closed on weekends
- Send your information to the VA Inspector General Hotline (53E), P.O Box 50410, Washington, DC 20091-0410
- Fax your complaint and all information to (202) 565 7936
- Email your information to the VAOIG Hotline at vaoighotline@va.go (please do not send your documents as attachments with your email as the system can reject them. Please enclose all your information in the body of your email text)