Antrim Man Pleads Guilty to Faking a Disability to Fraudulently Obtain $660,000 in Veterans Benefits

CONCORD – An Antrim man pleaded guilty today in federal court to faking a disability to get $662,871.77 in veteran’s benefits of which he was not entitled, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Christopher Stultz, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for May 6, 2024. Stultz was charged on September 13, 2023.

Beginning in January 2003, Stultz falsely represented to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that he was no longer able to use his feet.  This caused the VA to rate him as 100% disabled, increasing his monthly VA benefits.  In addition, because the VA believed Stultz was unable to use his feet, he was also awarded funding through the VA’s Automobile Adaptive Equipment program to purchase special cars and vehicle adaptations designed to help mobility-impaired veterans.

However, Stultz did not need a wheelchair or other ambulatory device to move around.  He was surveilled on multiple occasions and recorded walking normally.  For example, on October 28, 2021, Stultz went to the VA Medical Center in Jamaica Plain in Boston.  He used a wheelchair while inside the VA facility.  After leaving the VA, he stood up, lifted the wheelchair into his car, and drove off to a shopping mall.  There, Stultz walked normally through multiple stores.  Similarly, on October 3, 2022, Stultz went to the VA Medical Center in Manchester.  Again, he used a wheelchair while inside the VA facility.  After leaving the VA facility, Stultz drove to the Mall of New Hampshire and was recorded walking normally through multiple stores.  In addition, multiple witnesses reported that they had never known Stultz to use a wheelchair or other ambulatory devices as far back as the early 2000s.

In total, from January 2003 through December 2022, Stultz received $662,871.77 in VA benefits he was not entitled to.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 5 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General led the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.

###