Wisconsin man indicted in VA fraud case

A Wisconsin man and Army veteran has been indicted on accusations of defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of $400,000 in benefits by faking physical and mental ailments, federal court documents show.

A grand jury in Milwaukee returned an indictment late Tuesday charging Dean D. Young with five counts of wire fraud between August 2013 and May 2014. The indictment said his deception began in November 2002.

Young's age and hometown were not included in court documents. The case is being prosecuted out the U.S. attorney's Green Bay office and the fraud allegedly happened out of the VA's Milwaukee office.

According to the indictment:

Young served in the Army from 1977 to 1981. Beginning in June 2003, Young falsely claimed he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder based on his "fabricated stories" of witnessing two soldiers killed, one during a machine gun accident, the other in a parachute mishap.

In 2013, Young told a VA doctor he needed a wheelchair and could only walk a few steps, citing extreme back pain, but the doctor watched Young walk to his car in the parking lot in a normal fashion after his appointment. Law enforcement obtained a video of Young walking that same day at his apartment building and standing in an elevator, carrying a box, without assistance.

In 2014, he told a VA doctor he required a cane to walk and could not lift, bend or twist. Later that year, law enforcement recorded him walking near his residence unassisted and was seen carrying bags of ice and cases of beverages.

No court appearance had been scheduled as of early Wednesday.