SPRINGFIELD — A U.S. Marine veteran pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing benefit payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs and submitting a false Purple Heart application to the Marine Corps through his congressional representative.

In a change-of-plea hearing, Paul John “PJ” Herbert, 54, of Shelburne Falls, appeared in U.S. District Court in Springfield to plead guilty to one count of making false statements. His sentencing is scheduled for June 17 and he is expected to be ordered to pay $299,733 in restitution and a $5,500 fine in addition to 24 months of supervised release, with the first 12 months consisting of home confinement with exceptions for medical and mental health appointments as approved by the Probation Department.

The Greenfield Recorder published a report in August 2022 in which Herbert admitted to embellishing his military service and receiving medals and money he had not earned. Herbert was accused of stealing more than $344,000 in veterans disability benefits between Jan. 1, 2010 and March 11, 2023. He was arrested on Sept. 1, 2023.

“I just needed to feel important. I started feeling important and feeling good about myself and I didn’t know a way to get out,” Herbert said at the time. “I know I hurt a lot of people that trusted me and cared about me and everything else.”

He and Thomas J. O’Connor Jr., an assistant federal public defender, appeared before Judge Mark Mastroianni, who asked Herbert questions to confirm his mental competency and the facts of the case.

“I am guilty,” Herbert told the judge.

Both parties agree that the VA can withhold $900 per month from Herbert’s monthly disability compensation benefit as a reasonable repayment plan.

Investigations by the Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services District revealed that Herbert had lied about certain heroic actions during deployments to northern Iraq and Somalia in the 1990s. According to information the veterans’ services district received through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Herbert was in active service from Dec. 11, 1989, to Dec. 10, 1993, and in the Reserves from Dec. 11, 1993, to May 1, 1995. He later worked as a part-time Buckland police officer as well as railroad jobs.

Christopher Demars, then-deputy director of the Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services District, said he and his colleagues started becoming suspicious of Herbert’s claims several years ago when Herbert spoke at a local veterans event and talked about his experiences. Demars, now the agency’s director, said Herbert mentioned a lot of information that was not documented in his DD214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty). Herbert had claimed to be the only survivor of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack while serving with a group of British Royal Marines during Operation Provide Comfort, a mission to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. But Herbert told the Recorder in August 2022 that there was no IED explosion and no Royal Marines were killed. He confirmed this to Mastroianni on Tuesday.

The act of lying about military service is known as stolen valor. Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, a former social worker at a Rhode Island veterans’ hospital, was in 2023 sentenced to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay full restitution for stealing patient information to pass herself off as a decorated Marine Corps veteran with cancer and fraudulently collect nearly $300,000 in benefits, charitable contributions and donations.

Demars, who attended Tuesday’s court session, said he is pleased to see Herbert face justice.

“Now we can concentrate on the veterans that need our help instead of the ones that are lying about the help they need,” he said outside the courtroom. “I’m just glad it’s almost over with.”

The case was prosecuted by Steven Breslow and James Nagelberg.

“Military veterans deserve the respect of every citizen for their service to our country. Veterans know well that the Purple Heart honors those brave service members who were injured or killed in the line of duty. Mr. Herbert knew that he did not deserve this widely recognized and respected award, but that did not stop him from lying about a traumatic brain injury and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits, intended to take care of veterans truly in need,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement. “Claiming valor for a false injury is an affront to all the members of the military who serve our country with courage and honor.”

Herbert received hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits from the VA and also received free dental care, $9,000 in tax abatements from Buckland over nine years and $19,000 from the state’s annuity for veterans who are 100% disabled. Herbert reportedly also received reimbursed mileage to free mental health and neurological appointments he did not qualify for.

The veterans’ services district also said the VA had been paying the pet insurance and veterinarian bills for the service dog that Herbert got for free. His lodging and food were paid for when he went to Long Island to train with the canine.

Herbert received Mastroianni’s permission to wear sunglasses during the session after O’Connor said his client suffers from chronic migraines. Herbert also told the judge he suffers from depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and fibromyalgia, though the medications he takes for these conditions do not interfere with his ability to comprehend what he is being told.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.