Ricky P. Templet, Veterans Benefits Embezzlement, LA 2023

Ricky P. Templet, 54, of Mandeville, has been sentenced for stealing $16,673 in U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits meant for his late mother. The theft, uncovered years after the fact, exploited a system designed to protect vulnerable veterans — and instead lined the pockets of a man who showed no remorse until caught.

Court records reveal the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) launched the investigation after detecting suspicious activity in the benefits payments. Templet had been named his mother’s VA Fiduciary — a position of legal trust — on the day before she died in 2013. Federal rules require fiduciaries to report a beneficiary’s death immediately. Templet did not. He kept collecting.

After his mother’s passing, Templet cashed and deposited 15 U.S. Treasury checks, totaling $16,673. Each deposit was a deliberate act, stretching the fraud over months. The VA-OIG tracked every transaction, building a case that exposed not just theft, but a calculated betrayal of duty.

Templet was arrested by VA-OIG special agents at the St. Tammany Parish Jail, where he was already being held on unrelated charges. The arrest brought a quiet end to a years-long scheme that fed off a system built to honor military sacrifice.

U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon handed down a nine-month prison sentence. Upon release, Templet must report within 24 hours to Northlake Behavioral Hospital for court-ordered drug treatment — a sign the court viewed addiction as a factor, but not an excuse. He was also ordered to pay full restitution: $16,760 to the VA.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite commended the VA-OIG’s persistence, calling the case a reminder that stolen veteran benefits won’t go unnoticed. Fraud Unit Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba led the prosecution. The message is clear: betray the system that protects veterans, and the feds will come knocking.

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