Disability Taken after receiving over 20 years

[Karen C]

I was receiving disability from the VA from 1991 until 2016, when in February 2016 I didnt receive my check.  I called the VA and was told that I have a warrant (unpaid court costs, misdemeaner) in PA (I live in New Mexico).  The warrant was from 2007; when I did live there, however, I was not aware that I even had this warrant.  And I was told by the VA rep on the phone that I was a "fleeing felon" according to the VA, and would not be getting my disability back.  So, I found on the Internet in Jan 2019, that the VA has a 5yr rule, 10yr rule, and so on.  So, I had been receiving my disability (40% rating) since 1991.  So, was the VA wrong or correct in taking my disability.  I cant see how they could legally take away my disability, for unpaid court costs, and that the warrant was from 2007.

[GeekySquid]

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

If you are issued a summons, then you must appear on the court date specified, or else the Judge can declare you "guilty" for "failure to appear"

true a judge can, but failure to appear on a bench warrant over misdemeanor fines (as the OP claims) is not likely to raise to a felony level. In fact, most, if not all, jurisdictions in this nation just turn those over to Debt Collectors. It is a more effective way to get the money without having to expend resources on imprisoning people and all those costs.

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

but it could be explained by the Veteran's failure to appear in court, and the Judge could then enter a guilty verdict, because you did not appear.  

I agree that the Vets failure to appear on a summons can have a guilty verdict entered, but read the above comment. It really is not a felony and is way to costly to enforce instead of entering a guilty verdict for failure to appear, assess a fine, and then send it do a debt collector.

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

This can happen with things like serious traffic violations such as DUI, leaving scene of accident, and the like. 

The OP says this was over misdemeanor fines. another reason that this line of thought just does not seem to match the known information . Only the OP knows all the facts and circumstances

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

Your failure to appear to the judge is considered almost like an "admission of guilt", as you are not protesting the charges against you.  

In no body of law in the U.S. is there a statute that says "failure to appear is an admission of guilt". If a judge is every found to claim that in public, or privately and it leaks, there will be a long long long line of suits against that jurisdiction..and they will win.

9 hours ago, broncovet said:

The VA expects YOU to inform them of change of address, it is your responsibility not the Va's responsibility to find you.  

If you did not inform the VA of your change of address, and VA mailed you a "proposal to reduce", and you failed to respond, then its on you.  

The OP indicates this court kerfuffle happened in 2007, and the VA supposedly stopped their compensation in 2016. The VA had her proper address. The Civilian Court may not have, but the VA was sending her money for 9 years after the events. They knew where she was and how to reach her.

8 hours ago, broncovet said:

Of course, I have no idea if these were felonies or not.  This article explains that failure to appear can be "contempt of court" and involve severe penalties, similar to felonies:

there is no such thing as "similar to felonies" in terms of a verdict in a court. You are either Innocent, or you are guilty of either a felony or a misdemeanor. There is no other category.. "similar to felonies" is akin to being "a little bit pregnant".

8 hours ago, broncovet said:

Its a bad idea not to take a judge seriously and not show up for ones own court dates.  

I absolutely agree with that sentence and idea.

7 hours ago, GeekySquid said:

Something is wrong with this.

I will keep saying this until the OP offers up more information.

I don't care to publicly speculate on what is wrong with her posted claims; I will leave that to all rational readers to come to their own conclusion. Anyone who fails to apply critical thinking to this issue (as stated), is doing so at their own peril.

The big piece that does not make sense in any way, shape, or form, is waiting 3 years and suddenly deciding to do something about it.

I don't care that it was only a 40% rating. Money is money, and I know no one who would just walk away from being told "you're a fleeing felon" so we aren't going to pay you.

It will take a lot of facts and documents to convince me that there is nothing hinky about the information we have been given so far.

 

[Carl the Engineer]

Read bullet point six..

I did not know or forgot about the warrant making me a fugitive felon. Does that matter?

here,

https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/what-do-i-do-if-the-veterans-administration-s#e

And here is the kicker,

*If your crime was a high misdemeanor under state laws, but a felony under Federal law, the VA still says you are a fleeing felon.

What I do know, is basically, the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is the time in jail/prison.  Under a year, misdemeanor, more than a year, felony, is how district courts handle it.  Very hard to convict someone of a felony, the are usually plead down to misdemeanors.  

Also, Local, State and Federal laws sometime parallel each other, but have very different punishments.  I could fine you locally (ordinance violation) for an incident in the local National forest, however for repeat offenders, I would hold you for the Ranger, who would charge you (a way bigger fine) and then you would have to travel 4 hours to go to court for a mandatory appearance at the nearest Federal court.  Many ways to skin a cat.  Just for the record, I always gave a 1st offender a warning, unless it was alcohol or domestic related, which are mandated by law.  My jurisdiction did not survive on proceeds from ticket writing, so more warnings then tickets were given.  

I would need to know the OP's crime to be more specific.  That is for sure,

Hamslice

And Buck, I was an Combat Engineer in the Army, and a Cop after that.  Now retired, or just plain tired..

[GBArmy]

Hamslice good to know stuff. I think unless or until we hear more info from the veteran, we are just spinning our wheels. The little facts we do know don't seem what a normal person would do. She may have good (or bad )reasons, but until we get more facts I doubt if we can help. Waiting 3 years to address the problem and not knowing why she has not attempted to pay the court up to now are pretty puzzling at least to me.