COLUMBIA, S.C. — Federal prosecutors say a South Carolina man who never served in the military has been sentenced to prison for swindling nearly $200,000 in health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
[RELATED: Alexander County couple charged with embezzling from veteran's groups]
The Justice Department said in a news release 71-year-old Keith Hudson of Charleston was sentenced this week to six months in federal prison.
Hudson pleaded guilty earlier this year to health care fraud. Authorities say he claimed he fought in Vietnam and received two Purple Heart medals when he applied to the VA in Charleston in 2015.
[RELATED: Navy veteran who held yard sales to pay for own funeral dies]
But Hudson never served in the military. Prosecutors say he's suspected of carrying out a similar scheme in Connecticut, where he got care at VA facilities from 2003 until authorities caught on and placed Hudson in a pretrial diversion program.
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Associated Press
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