Earl Lafayete Hall III, Veterans Benefit Scam, TN 2016

HARRISBURG, PA – A Tennessee couple is facing serious federal charges after allegedly ripping off the system to the tune of $98,165 in veterans’ unemployment benefits. Earl Lafayete Hall, III, 35, and his wife, Renita Blunt, 31, both of Arlington, Tennessee, were indicted by a federal grand jury on November 9, 2016, and now face a slew of charges that could put them behind bars for decades.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Hall and Blunt are charged with mail fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The scheme, brazen in its scope, involved allegedly filing claims under the false names and identities of 11 individuals – ten men and one woman – across three states between January 2013 and March 2015. The couple didn’t limit their operation to a single state; they submitted one fraudulent claim to Hawaii, three to Utah, and a whopping seven to Pennsylvania.

The benefits were obtained through the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members Program (UCX), a federally-funded program administered by individual states. Essentially, the states front the money to veterans, then get reimbursed by the Department of Defense. Hall and Blunt allegedly exploited this system, claiming benefits based on fabricated military service records. Approximately $10,000 of the fraudulent payouts came from the Utah claims, now included in the expanded indictment.

This isn’t the first time the pair have faced legal trouble. They were initially indicted by a Middle District of Pennsylvania grand jury back in June 2016. However, the second superseding indictment significantly ratchets up the pressure, adding ten money laundering counts for Blunt and a conspiracy charge for both. Prosecutors are building a solid case, aiming to prove not just the initial fraud, but also the deliberate attempt to conceal the source of the ill-gotten gains.

The investigation is a multi-agency effort, involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and multiple Pennsylvania state agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel is leading the prosecution. Authorities haven’t yet set a date for the couple’s arraignment on the new charges, but the clock is ticking.

It’s crucial to remember that indictments are allegations, and both Hall and Blunt are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, if convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per count, along with supervised release and hefty fines. The final sentence will be determined by the judge, taking into account federal sentencing guidelines and a range of factors. This is a clear message: defrauding veterans and the federal government will not be tolerated.