Florida Air Force Veteran Pleads Guilty to Stealing $245,000 in VA Benefits

A New Smyrna Beach, Florida, man has pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen government money after federal prosecutors said he faked blindness for years to collect nearly a quarter-million dollars in Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation.

Jerry Smith, 73, faces up to 10 years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining $244,953.70 in VA disability benefits between 2017 and 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced May 4. A sentencing date has not been set.

Faking Blindness While Working as a School Guardian

Smith served briefly in the U.S. Air Force in 1970 and later claimed his vision had deteriorated from welding light exposure during his service, WNDB News Daytona Beach reported. He told the VA he was legally blind, stating the condition prevented him from driving, working and performing basic daily tasks.

Based on those representations, the VA awarded Smith disability compensation for four years.

Federal investigators found that Smith’s vision was “significantly better” than what he had described during eye examinations and in written statements to the VA, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

During the years he collected disability benefits, Smith allegedly drove a car, read without difficulty, navigated around people and obstacles in stores while conducting transactions at cash registers and drive-through ATMs, according to federal prosecutors. He also worked as a firearms specialist and served as a school guardian at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Florida.

Smith passed the guardian program’s firearms qualification test on his first attempt.

Security footage from Spruce Creek captured Smith walking through the school cafeteria and a hallway while reading papers in his hand. He was also seen standing to observe students and parents as they entered the building.

Though Smith has pleaded guilty to fraud, his military service is not in dispute. He served in the Air Force for less than a year and the vision issues he reported were tied to his time in uniform. What prosecutors challenged was the severity of those claims and the lengths he went to in order to maintain them during VA medical evaluations.

The VA’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane S. Hu is prosecuting.

A Growing Federal Push Against Benefits Fraud

The Department of Justice tied Smith’s prosecution to a broader crackdown on fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs.

On April 7, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally established the National Fraud Enforcement Division, a new DOJ entity led by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, who was confirmed by the Senate on March 24. The division’s stated mission is to “zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars,” according to the DOJ memorandum announcing its creation.

The NFED consolidates several existing DOJ units under one leadership structure and requires every U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country to designate a prosecutor to support its work. A National Fraud Detection Center will use data analytics to identify fraud across government programs and generate investigative leads, the memo states.

The division stems from President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on March 16, creating the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide body chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance. The task force includes representatives from the departments of Justice, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services and nearly a dozen other agencies. It operates under a 30-60-90-day timeline requiring agencies to identify their most fraud-prone programs, adopt minimum anti-fraud controls and submit measurable implementation plans.

In fiscal year 2025, the federal government recovered a record $6.8 billion under the False Claims Act, according to DOJ figures.

VA disability compensation is one of the federal government’s largest benefit programs. The budget for fiscal year 2025 projected $193 billion in VA disability spending, and more than 6.9 million veterans and beneficiaries receive compensation, VA Inspector General Cheryl Mason told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in October 2025.

Fraud perpetrated by individual veterans makes up a relatively small share of the cases investigators pursue. Mason testified that only about 3.7% of the office’s active fraud probes involved veterans suspected of benefits fraud. The majority of cases target outside actors running schemes against the VA and the veterans it serves.

During the six-month period ending September 2025, the VA OIG identified nearly $3.8 billion in monetary impact across all its oversight work, opened 230 investigations, closed 301 and made 205 arrests, according to its semiannual report to Congress.