VA paid Columbus veteran $76,000 for PTSD from war events. He admits he made it up.
A Columbus military veteran accused of stolen valor and lying about a combat-induced mental health condition to receive disability payments pleaded guilty to multiple charges in federal court.
Gregg Ramsdell, 61, entered a guilty plea to one count of false statements and one count of violation of the Stolen Valor Act. Ramsdell was indicted on those charges in August.
The Stolen Valor Act makes it illegal for people to claim to be war heroes in order to gain money, employment, property or other tangible benefits, according to court documents and a news release from the United States Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Georgia.
According to the plea agreement, Ramsdell admitted to lying about a deployment in Afghanistan from October 2008 to March 2009. During that time, Ramsdell said he witnessed violent deaths and atrocities. He also falsely claimed to receive two of the military’s highest honors to obtain a civilian position at Fort Benning.
Ramsdell served “interrupted periods of enlistment” in the United States Army, the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard and the Army Reserve from 1981 to 2014. He was honorably discharged, according to court documents.
In an electronic form that he submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2014, Ramsdell was seeking post-traumatic stress disorder disability payments as a result of seeing “men, women and children being executed. Women holding babies while detonating themselves. IED explosions causing severe bodily injuries and death. Retrieving body parts and bagging them. Having blood and body excrements being blown onto my uniform,” according to the plea agreement.
Military forms showed that Ramsdell wasn’t deployed to Afghanistan during that time. He later admitted in interviews with federal agents that the events he described in his disability claim did not happen. As of July 2019, Ramsdell had received approximately $76,000 in PTSD payments, according to the plea agreement.
In addition, Ramsdell was chosen for a civilian position at Fort Benning after embellishing his military record.
Ramsdell claimed that he received a Silver Star, the third-highest military combat decoration, and a Purple Heart with Cluster, meaning he had been wounded in combat on more than one occasion, according to the plea agreement. Military records did not show that Ramsdell received either of those awards, according to court documents.
Several candidates applied for the position, and Ramsdell was chosen, in part, because of his claimed awards, thus resulting in a violation of the Stolen Valor Act.
“Faking serious wartime injuries to gain undeserved benefit, and claiming valor where there is none, do a disservice to our brave veterans and service members who selflessly risk their lives protecting this country,” said U.S. Attorney Charlie Peeler in a statement. “Fraud of this kind and theft of taxpayer money will not be tolerated, and we will continue to prosecute those who commit such crimes. I want to thank the FBI investigators assigned to this case for their excellent work.”
Ramsdell faces up to six years in prison and $500,000 in fines collectively for the charges. He’ll also have to pay $76,000 in restitution to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
There is no parole in the federal system. Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2020, according to court documents.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 4:27 PM.