And the Crime Continues

One must wonder when our congressional or state legislators are going to finally step up to protect their military veteran constituents from what the Veterans of Foreign Wars calls claim sharks — either federally (as it should be and was at one time) or through commonwealth law (which now seems necessary).  This serious issue has been hanging around far too long and is getting worse.   

All should be playing by the same rules.  As is explained in the VFW flyer below, the federal law is clear.  However, enforcement has been weak.  Moreover, and important to both enforcement and deterrence, there is currently no federal punishment for the crime; and the vast majority of states, like Pennsylvania, have failed to fill the gap on what is a consumer protection issue at the very least.

Consequently, serious crime is occurring as never before.  Our military veterans are often losing thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars,for assistance that is supposed to be offered for free by VA accredited (trained, qualified, and certified) agents.  We are not talking about a few hundred dollars, as bad as that may be on principle.  Currently, certain individuals and organizations are being permitted by our governments to skirt the law because there is no consequence to violating it.  And to repeat, all should be playing by the same rules in the first place … to the benefit of those who once served to protect us at one time.

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As of 20 August 2026