A Kansas veteran who claimed to be legally blind to receive supplemental assistance from the Department of Veteran Affairs is under indictment for fraud.
Department of Justice officials said that Billy J. Alumbaugh, 61, of Turon, Kansas, claimed to be legally blind and unable to drive, requiring assistance for "reading medication labels, grocery shopping and going to doctor appointments."
But from 2009 to 2016, the indictment alleges that Alumbaugh drove himself regularly, maintaining a Kansas driver's license that noted he required no corrective lenses.
Despite VA specialists not being able to identify the medical diagnosis of his blindness, Almbaugh was witnessed leaving a VA appointment in October 2016 with his ex-wife, Debra K. Alumbaugh, driving.
A few blocks from the Witchita VA facility, witnesses saw the couple stop, swap seats and Billy Almbaugh drive off.
The March 2 indictment said that Almbaugh received $63,000 in supplemental pension benefits for his blindness. The couple is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of theft of government funds.
If convicted, they face five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge in addition to a possible 10-year sentence and a $250,000 fine on the theft charge.
