A former United States Marine, Paul John Herbert, was sentenced in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts for submitting a false Purple Heart application. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni sentenced Herbert to two years of supervised release, with the first year under home confinement. In March 2025, Herbert pleaded guilty to making false statements after being indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
Herbert's fraudulent activities began on October 13, 2010, when he submitted numerous false statements to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regarding injuries from an improvised explosive device (IED). These claims led to an overpayment of $344,040 by the VA between January 1, 2010 and March 1, 2023.
On October 24, 2018, Herbert requested assistance from his Congressman for a Purple Heart application. This request included a notarized letter falsely claiming injury from a roadside explosion.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office; and Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's Northeast Field Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg.
