VA Director Investigated For Threatening, Shaming Veterans

01.09.2015 | Daily Surge |

Veterans Affairs director Scott Losey has recently resigned after emails surfaced of him intimidating and shaking down vulnerable veterans for money.

Losey resigned on Monday after he tried to harass Phyllis Katz, the widow of a Navy veteran, for survivor’s benefits. Katz reported him and soon after, local news obtained emails via a Freedom of Information Act request. In the emails, Losey often suggested and even explicitly demanded that veterans who received his help owed him cash, favors and drugs. He also threatened and shamed veterans who refused to pay.

Calhoun County sheriff’s detectives seized a computer and documents from Losey’s home on Wednesday and a computer and files from his Veterans Affairs office Thursday. Investigators will have to dig through approximately 40,000 emails to uncover the full extent of Losey’s activities. The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department has also passed the information over to the federal government.

Losey expressed frustration in an email from Dec. 2009 after not receiving any favors from a veteran he helped:

“Also, where is my Christmas present…Just so you know, my wife and I like to go out every once in a while for dinner…”

In an email from Oct. 20, 2011, Losey discussed a “gentleman’s agreement” with a client, according to WoodTV.com.

“We will discuss a gentleman’s agreement to compensate for my personal time. I have worked cases for veterans who reside outside Calhoun County over the past couple of years with the same kind of agreement. I will not gouge you like your Social Security lawyer. Perhaps 7 to 10 percent is typically the agreement. I have had veterans screw me over big time as well. Does this sound cool?”

Losey also asked a veteran for drugs in May 2013, saying, “Perhaps I will hit you up for a few of your meds to help me get through the day.” In the same email, he stated that while he didn’t expect an immediate, upfront payment, if the veteran’s appeal went through and the veteran didn’t send some cash to help Losey with his house payments, “you and I will be throwing down.”

Scott Losey did not return The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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