New Mexico AG Torrez files suit against Las Cruces business allegedly defrauding veterans

Leah Romero, Source New Mexico

This article was originally published by Source New Mexico.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez is seeking restitution for veterans he alleges were defrauded by a consulting company based in Las Cruces.

Torrez filed a civil suit against Disabled Veterans Consultants, Inc. Thursday claiming the company violated the Unfair Practices Act by using unfair and deceptive trade practices and unconscionable trade practices. During a press conference in Las Cruces, Torrez said the company offers consulting services to veterans to help access their benefits. However, the company is not accredited with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as they are required to be to charge for services. And such services are provided to veterans for free through various agencies, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans.

Torrez described the company as a “claimshark,” or “organizations who prey upon our veterans in their moment of need when they’re trying to access the disability benefits that they’re entitled to as a result of their service to our country.” He said such companies often offer to process claims on behalf of veterans for large fees or percentages of the person’s benefits.

“Sadly, this country has not invested enough in supporting our veterans. This country, indeed, this state, has not invested enough in supporting our veterans,” Torrez said. “We have men and women who have honorably served this country who have disabilities as a result of their service who don’t realize or may not have access to free services to help.”

Court documents also state that payments the company received from veterans were not made to the company itself, but to Zeplin Global Group, LLC; MJJL Holdings, LLC; and GTM Bookkeeping, LLC – codefendants in the suit and all based out of Chula Vista, California. 

Torrez is asking the court to grant an injunction to prohibit the company from continuing to operate in such a manner. According to court documents, Torrez is asking that the company issue full refunds to the impacted veterans, cancel all contracts and pay fines of up to $5,000 per violation.

“The action that we have taken today is intended to send a very clear signal to claimsharks, both in this community in Las Cruces, but around the state, that this kind of conduct will not be tolerated by my office,” Torrez said. “We will be aggressively investigating anyone who is engaged in this conduct.”

Brian Ravak, state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told members of the media during Thursday’s press conference that state and federal legislation should be passed to further protect veterans from bad actors.

“The VFW, along with the American Legion and [Disabled American Veterans], have actively urged Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit the exploitation of veterans and survivors of unscrupulous claimsharks and strengthen the accreditation system,” Ravak said. “Each of our organizations have accredited veteran service officers who file VA claims for free – not one dime of a veteran’s benefits goes to a veteran service organization.”

He also mentioned House Bill 245, legislation introduced during the recent session that died in the House Judiciary Committee, which would have prohibited companies or individuals from asking for payment for helping a veteran obtain their benefits, unless they were permitted to ask for compensation under federal law.

Ravak said he will “demand” the bill be reintroduced in a future legislative session.

At least three states have passed such legislation, while Louisiana passed a law last year that would allow consulting companies to charge veterans up to $12,500 in fees for benefit services.

Torrez said the case against the Las Cruces company is still in the early stages and it is unclear at this point how many veterans may have been taken advantage of. 

“I can tell you that while this is the first action that we’ve taken against a claimshark in this space, it almost certainly won’t be the last,” he said. 

He added that the state and federal government have expanded eligibility for benefit claims, but have not increased capacity for processing the higher number of claims, creating an “opportunity for businesses like this, and unethical and unscrupulous people, to step into that space and take advantage of folks.”

Torrez said veterans are encouraged to reach out to his office if they have a complaint about how their benefits were processed, particularly if they were asked to sign over a portion of their benefits to a consultant.

Leah Romero is a Las Cruces-based reporter placed with Source New Mexico through the New Mexico Local News Fellowship.