Veteran Sentenced for Wrongful Receipt of Benefits Based on Falsified Military Records

BOSTON – A Wakefield veteran was sentenced yesterday for fraudulently receiving $174,000 in benefits paid to him based upon falsified Vietnam War service records.

Albert L. Seely, 67, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $174,000 in restitution to the Veteran’s Administration.  Seely pleaded guilty in December 2014.

Seely, a former U.S. Marine, was deployed to Vietnam and served there from 1966 to 1967.  In December 1970, Seely filed his discharge papers with the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) and misrepresented the dates and places of his deployment in Vietnam.  He also falsely listed numerous commendations, including two Purple Hearts, a Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star.  In March 1999, Seely applied for and received VBA disability payments based upon his false claims of combat and valor.  He ultimately fraudulently obtained $174,656 in government benefits.  In February 2014, the VBA terminated his benefits after his fraud was revealed.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Jeffrey G. Hughes, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crime Unit.