A Tampa, Florida veteran has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $429,568.09 in restitution for theft of government funds and making false statements to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell handed down that sentence to Barry Wayne Hoover, according to a June 3 Department of Justice release. A federal jury found Hoover, 51, guilty on Dec. 3, 2021.
According to evidence presented at trial, Hoover, a U.S. Navy veteran, exaggerated the extent of his visual impairment in order to receive VA disability benefits to which he was not entitled.
Specifically, Hoover manipulated the results of subjective tests of his peripheral vision to reflect that he had a 5-degree visual field and was legally blind. Hoover also made false statements to the VA regarding his ability to drive and perform other activities.
“Based upon the manipulated test results and false statements, the VA found Hoover 100% disabled and awarded him significant monetary benefits and other valuable services,” the DOJ release states.
Video footage, social media posts, and other evidence showed Hoover driving a car, a three-wheeled motorcycle, an ATV, and a boat. He was also captured mowing his lawn, operating power tools such as a chain saw, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, and performing other tasks, including, but not limited to, shopping, without assistance.
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Expert testimony at trial established that an individual with a 5-degree visual field could not drive and would be reliant on a white cane to function in public. Hoover received approximately $429,568.09 in VA benefits to which he was not entitled as a result of his misrepresentations, according to the release.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that veterans who defraud the VA by exaggerating their disabilities will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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