[colorado tanker]

You need to go the whole article. The IRS was not grabbing his veterans benefits. The IRS was garnishing his bank account because they thought he had an unpaid tax bill. They were in error and refunded the money.

Once exempt funds are placed in a general bank account, a creditor can garnish them for a debt.

[RetiredTexasVet]

You can’t get your benefits in cash or check, its got to go into a bank account, hence the money laundering trick. Wouldn’t make any difference if he had separate accounts for VA benefits, general income, etc. as they would seize them all and you would have to spend the time and energy trying to prove otherwise.