Man Posing as Army Veteran Jailed, Must Pay Back $28K For VA Benefits Fraud

A man will be serving multiple years behind bars after stealing tens of thousands in fraudulent veterans’ benefits.

Michael Duane Dyson, 46, of Tallahassee, Fla., was sentenced on Wednesday to four years in jail and ordered to pay $28,1118.36 in restitution to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after misrepresenting himself as a U.S. Army combat veteran to fraudulently collect VA benefits. Dyson received over $114,000 in VA-funded medical treatment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday in a press release.

In April 2022, Dyson posed as a veteran and claimed he had been awarded both the Purple Heart—an award for service members wounded or killed in combat—and a Bronze Star, the fourth-highest military award for combat bravery. He then fraudulently received benefits in the form of VA medical treatment until June 2025.

“The brave men and women of our Armed Forces have made innumerable sacrifices throughout our nation’s history to preserve and protect the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans, and acts of stolen valor by fraudsters, like this defendant, are despicable,” John P. Heekin, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said in a statement. “This defendant fraudulently claimed military service to gain benefits reserved for our nation’s warriors, but thanks to the excellent investigative work by federal law enforcement partners and the successful prosecution by my office, he’ll spend years in federal prison for his crimes.”

The DOJ release added that in May 2025, Dyson also tried to fraudulently claim additional VA housing benefits. That was when his deception was uncovered.

Dyson had also previously sought VA benefits in Boston in 2013, but those benefits were denied because he was unable to prove he was in the service.

Sentencing Details

The investigation comes as part of the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, which was created on April 7. The unit was created as part of President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse within federal programs.

During the time Dyson claimed he was in the Army, he was incarcerated in Massachusetts for a sex offense.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Mountin prosecuted the case.

“This sentence holds the defendant accountable for falsely claiming military service to obtain VA benefits intended for veterans who earned them through their sacrifice and service,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Greg Wentz with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Southeast Field Office in a statement. “The VA OIG remains committed to safeguarding veteran programs against fraud so that benefits reach the individuals they were created to serve.”

When he is released from prison, Dyson will be required to serve three years on supervised release.