Connecticut officials gathered at the state Veterans Home in Rocky Hill Wednesday to promote new legislation intended to protect veterans and their families from illegal consulting operations known as “claim sharks,” which charge vets for services they’re entitled to receive for free.
The bills, currently before the legislature’s Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, would enact new provisions to crack down on unaccredited claim sharks, who aggressively target veterans and charge them for help applying for federal benefits.
Although it is illegal for non-accredited entities to charge vets to file disability claims, that federal law contains no enforcement penalties. Bills proposed this year by Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong put Connecticut among a growing number of states taking action to protect veterans.
“I can’t think of anybody more venal than one of these claims sharks trying to rip off our veterans and we’re going to come down on you like a ton of bricks,” Lamont said. “That’s what this law’s about.”
The governor’s bill includes new disclosure requirements designed to ensure that veterans know of all applicable fees and are made aware that the services offered by these companies are available for free through state and federal agencies.
The attorney general has proposed additional legislation that would give his office the tools to enforce these protections under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Sen. Paul Honig, a Harwinton Democrat who serves as co-chair of the legislature’s veterans panel, said he was happy to be weighing the new protections, which had received positive public testimony from veterans and organizations like the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“I was horrified in our public testimony to learn that some veterans have been scammed out of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of benefits,” Honig said. “Through these bills, we’ll be able to have some enforcement mechanisms so that these bad actors will stop.”
In addition to illegally charging fees, Tong said claim sharks often require veterans to provide sensitive information like bank account numbers or login and password information. Disclosing this information leaves veterans at heightened risk of fraud and identity theft, the attorney general said.
The legislature’s Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee is also working on a bill that would increase the number of Veteran Service Officers — individuals who help vets apply for benefits without charging them for the service.
“We ask so much of our military servicemembers when they’re serving the country. We need to make sure that we’re there for them when they need us,” Honig said. “The idea that people are scamming veterans out of their earned benefits is just horrible.”
