Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025
The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse veterans when a fiduciary misuses benefits paid to the fiduciary on the veteran’s behalf. If misuse occurs, the VA must reissue the amount misused to the veteran or the veteran’s successor fiduciary and attempt to recoup those funds from the fiduciary. Any recouped funds go back to the veteran or their successor fiduciary, but the total payments cannot exceed the amount misused. The bill also covers situations where the beneficiary is deceased, specifies how payments should be handled in that case, and establishes procedures to determine whether a misuse is related to VA negligence without delaying reissuance. Overall, it strengthens protections for veterans whose benefits are mishandled by fiduciaries and creates a framework for recovery of funds.
Key Points
- 1Reissuance of misused benefits: If a fiduciary misuses all or part of a veteran’s benefits, the VA must pay an amount equal to the misused portion to the veteran or the veteran’s successor fiduciary.
- 2Recoupment from fiduciaries: The VA must make a good faith effort to recover the misused funds from the fiduciary who originally received the payment.
- 3Deceased beneficiaries: If the beneficiary dies, the VA must pay the misused amount to an eligible recipient per section 5121, and cannot pay a fiduciary who misused benefits.
- 4Cap on total payments: The total amount paid to the veteran or successor fiduciary under this provision cannot exceed the total misused benefit amount.
- 5Oversight of negligence: The VA must establish methods to determine whether misuse was due to VA negligence. Reissuance cannot be delayed pending such determinations, and the department is not required to determine negligence in every case.