Exploiting the Uniform: Claim Sharks and Grifters Prey on Veterans

August 26, 2025

By Brian Hews

When a veteran files for disability benefits, the process is supposed to be straightforward: the Department of Veterans Affairs offers accredited representatives—lawyers, trained agents, and veteran service organizations like the American Legion or VFW—who guide veterans through their claims for free. These accredited reps follow strict rules and can only charge limited fees. It’s a system designed to protect the very people who earned those benefits in combat.

Enter the grifters. These parasites hijack the process by slapping the label “consultant” or “coach” on themselves, pretending they’ve got some secret sauce to fast-track claims. By doing so, they duck federal rules and then lock veterans into shady contracts. The fine print bleeds away thousands of dollars—sometimes years’ worth of benefits—long after the claim is resolved. These aren’t helpers; they’re predators feeding off the desperation of men and women who already gave this country everything.

The offenders are notorious. Veterans Guardian based in North Carolina; VA Claims Insider based in Texas and Trajector Medicalbased in Florida, they all hide behind patriotic branding, eagles, and flags while reaching into veterans’ pockets. State attorneys general have issued cease-and-desist letters. The VA has sounded the alarm. Lawsuits have piled up. And still, these vultures circle, because weak federal oversight lets them. Veterans have told Congress how they were duped into thinking these companies were tied to the VA, only to realize too late that they were trapped in contracts that drained their compensation while muzzling them from speaking out. That’s not help—it’s highway robbery.

Patriotism? Don’t make me laugh. These outfits don’t serve veterans—they serve themselves. They are claim sharks, they are grifters, they are bottom-feeders who should be run out of town. They’re not “consultants,” they’re con men. And every dollar they steal is one less dollar for rent, food, medication, or a child’s education.

California is at least fighting back. Senator Bob Archuleta’s SB 694 would finally make it a crime to charge veterans for claims services without VA accreditation. Veteran service organizations are backing it. That’s the model Washington should follow—but Congress, as usual, moves at a snail’s pace while veterans get fleeced.

Every month that goes by, more veterans are scammed, more families lose their lifeline, and more grifters laugh all the way to the bank. Enough is enough.

Patriotism is not a business model. If you claim to stand with veterans, prove it—don’t rob them blind. Until the government grows a spine and shuts these claim sharks down, veterans will remain under attack—not from foreign enemies, but from profiteers right here at home.

Contact Brian Hews at [email protected] or follow @cerritosnews.bsky.social.