Posted on 11/22/2016 11:47:43 PM PST by nickcarraway
A Fort Worth man faces up to 21 years in prison after he admitted lying about his military service to get a mortgage-free house and monthly veterans' benefits.
Brandon Blackstone claimed to have received a Purple Heart when his Humvee drove over a bomb in Iraq and it exploded.
"I was blown up while I was there," he said in a 2012 interview with NBCDFW. "I had to be medevaced home."
He offered more details about the explosion in a YouTube video.
"The one (Humvee) behind me got totally destroyed," he said. "I suffered a head injury and a head laceration that caused traumatic brain injury."
Blackstone pleaded guilty in federal court in Dallas to making up the story and will be sentenced in February, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Blackstone's attorney, Justin Sparks, did not return a telephone call from NBCDFW.
But he told The DMN that his client served his country and still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
It turns out Blackstone may have taken more than money.
The sister of another Marine who served in the same unit said Blackstone stole his story.
Lezleigh Kleibrink, of Trophy Club, said what Blackstone claimed happened to him really happened to her brother, Casey Owens.
Owens did receive a Purple Heart after the Humvee he was in blew up.
He somehow survived but lost both legs, broke almost every bone, and injured his brain, too.
"He was absolutely a hero," his sister said.
The truth is Blackstone never received a Purple Heart.
He came back to the U.S. after a month overseas – not with a war injury but with appendicitis.
And a story.
"It was Casey's story, minus his legs being gone," Kleibrink said.
Blackstone accepted a mortgage-free house, and monthly veterans' benefits he now admits he didn't deserve.
Owens tried to adjust to life back home. Even without legs, he skied in Colorado.
But his sister says he had trouble coping. He died in 2014.
"In a very manic moment, he took his life," she said.
Kleibrink said she is no longer angry but still wonders why Blackstone lied.
"It just brings all of this back up," she said. "Now I'm left sitting here looking at pictures. This is all I have left."
ALARM bells going off, to get VA disability you need a DD214 and proof of injuries. To get a VA Mortage you need the same DD214.
Some one failed to do their job. Hubby is Ret. 20 yr Navy Vet and when we downsized to a starter house because we are seniors now and don’t need 3800 sq ft with 2 floors, and 2 roof tops for him to fall off of. Fell to the firs roof once was enough for me to push for a 1 story house, easier to take care of. We needed his DD214 to get a VA Mortage, and he needed it for VA Disability for flight hearing loss working the flight deck.
Yeah, hondact200 still has yet to explain the demonstrably false claims they made.
Interestingly enough, he recently made a post about “Revisionist History.”
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3496423/posts?page=17#17
I guess hondact200 should be considered an expert at revisionist history since he’s revised his own history several times on this very forum.
He’s had surgeries appear and disappear.
He’s been a crippled paraplegic and a walking wounded.
Then back to being crippled.
One day he can’t walk and the next he’s cutting lawns and driving a stick shift.
And of course he’s revised history as attested to by dozens of Marines and other rescue workers who say his claim of being buried for days under rubble is pure BS.
We pretty well know that he’s a lying sack.
Why he continues to sully our Forum with his presence is anybody’s guess.
“DD214 is just discharge form.”
If he had a purple heart, it would have been on his DD214.
Most vets, I think, have been asked for their DD214 for a number of reasons.
I’ve been waiting 6 years for mine to be corrected.....
Before I applied for my GI loan, I had to visit the local branch of Veterans Administration to get the qualifying certificate to present to the mortgage loan company. Those folks at the VA, who look at DD214s all day, are the ones who check off on that! That was back in the mid-90’s. However, even the paper records from the era of my discharge have been scanned into the VA system, for when I filed for VA medical care this past March, they were able to pull it up onscreen.
Without further researching the facts of this guy’s actions, one can only surmise that this a-hole made claims that were taken to heart by some do-gooder who meant all the best, but did not check the record for veracity. The do-gooder (perhaps a local bank branch manager?) got scammed. I can imagine that happening if this fake’s human interest ‘story’ were aired by local media - who also allowed themselves to be scammed. What, like some liberal reporter knows what a real DD214 looks like? Phffffffffffffffffftttt!
Again, all a hypothetical.
See there Mr. Fake War Injury? I can play that game too!
“I’ve been waiting 6 years for mine to be corrected.....”
I presume you’ve contacted your congresscritter.
Twice
VFW? American Legion?
No help there either....
“No help there either....”
So, the Board for the Correction of Military Records just won’t act?
....no they sent me letters confirming records,awards, and assignments....said everything would be forwarded to Dept for corrections......nothing since...been through the DVA too...no help anywhere.Originally started corrections in 2010.. June. They even sent me ribbons
Have you tried sending copies of the documentation directly to the board?
Sounds like maybe they lost your stuff and don’t want to admit it.
I sympathize, though. There are a few ribbons missing from my DD214, but nothing important enough to go through that grief for.
Many have hoodwinked the VA over the years, the VA does not have a working relationship with the military branches. Meaning if you can fake your documents good enough for them they don’t cross check with Army, ETC. to make sure everything matches. Their computers do not speak to each other and though they were supposed to start verifying service claims years ago it is still hit and miss.
There have been people caught faking the whole thing, people who haven’t even served have gamed the system to get all sorts of VA benefits.
Sad thing is for every cheater caught, many who deserve benefits are stuck in a waiting pattern for their medical care, disability claims, and other benefits.
Somehow the cheaters can game the process while real disabled Veterans are often denied or wait years for their approvals.
“Somehow the cheaters can game the process while real disabled Veterans are often denied or wait years for their approvals.”
Ain’t that always the way?
I can't think of a better idea.
*****300k more with TBIs. I’ve had PLENTY of injuries (not a vet), and TBI is BY FAR the worst.*****
Not understanding the massive TBI occurrance in these conflicts. Explosives, mines, booby traps (now called ied) have neen around since gunpowder was invented. Hard to understand the percentage of TBI claims in just this theater and not prior wars. It’s undoubtedly like the PTSD term coined that was just a synonym for shell-shock/battle fatigue from prior wars.
****Many have hoodwinked the VA over the years, the VA does not have a working relationship with the military branches*****
This is of course surprising as the military medical and hospitalization records is the first thing the VA healthcare system obtains. Of course as you refer re: non-communication, that doesn’t mean even the VA medical system shares the data with the VA disability/compensation office.
Dont know if there was a war with an enclosed vehicle riding over a bomb and jerking the guys’ heads back and forth brutally in these numbers.
It’s the ONLY tactic that was pretty much used against them and also a lot of these head injured would have died even 20 years ago.
You may be right. But mine was from falling down flight of cement stairs in manhattan and the seem to have the same symptoms. Chronic headaches, tinnitus, insomnia, night terrors...
BTW, the sleep wake cycle is so much more complicated than I thought!!! If I wake up without alarm I wake up HORRIBLY, body shaking and terrifying vivid dreams, takes 15 minutes to completely stop shaking.
If I wake up to alarm, I wake up fine!!
Something going wrong at the point of waking, docs tell me. Great lol. How about fixing it?
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