William Rich, undated. Photo via U.S. Justice Department.
“People who play roles will eventually forget their lines.”
That’s what Assistant U.S. Attorney Collen McGuinn reportedly told jurors in Maryland this week as they began weighing the curious case of William Rich, a U.S. Army veteran accused of faking paraplegia while he collected close to $1 million in disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Rich, according to details from the indictment released by the Justice Department in 2021, is charged with five counts of wire fraud and a single count of theft of government property.
Prosecutors allege that Rich pretended to be paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair after he said he was injured by a bomb that exploded inside of an Army dining facility in Baqubah, Iraq in 2005. Indeed, as the Baltimore Banner reported, the bombing did happen and a concrete wall did fall on top of Rich. Two other Americans perished.
It is alleged that Rich initially reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs that he was 100% disabled and had lost use of his legs. He made substantial recovery after his injury however and was not considered paralyzed by the department after six weeks in rehabilitation and recovery. The Justice Department said Rich was no longer considered paralyzed by 2021.
The Army Times reported that the VA Office of the Inspector General audited some of Rich’s claims and also conducted surveillance of him. The audit started in 2018 and lasted two years. Prosecutors say Rich was seen walking, climbing up flights of stairs, getting in and out of cars without an issue, carrying items, and bending or lifting things without any visible limitation or the use of a wheelchair.
Rich is accused of using his disability benefits and Veterans Affairs grants — he received at least $760,000 — to pay for personal items like a luxury BMW sports coupe specially adapted for his disability.
Though prosecutor McGuinn painted Rich as a swindler, his attorney, Gerald Ruter, said Rich was an innocent “patriot.”
“This man is a patriot. This man is a hero. And I’ll also tell you what he’s not. He’s not an actor. And he’s not guilty,” Ruter told jurors in Maryland during opening statements.
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