U.S. Army veteran William Rich spared jail time in a fraud and theft case

A U.S. Army veteran who feigned paralysis and made false statements to collect more than $767,000 in benefits he was not entitled to will be spared time in federal prison, a judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced William Rich to three years of supervised release on five counts of fraud and one count of theft of government property. He must also pay compensation and perform 300 hours of community service.

During the first year of his sentence, Rich, 44, of Windsor Mill, will not be allowed to leave his home – except for medical appointments, court hearings and lawyer visits. There will then be a curfew for the next six months.

As he handed down the sentence, Hurson noted that he had struggled with the case since the trial. The crime, he said, cried out for punishment.

But Hurson said he was struck by how Rich was born to a teenage mother, became homeless and grew up in a tough Baltimore neighborhood. But even though his country had not given him much at the time, he decided to enlist in the army – and he paid a price.

A hole was blown through Rich during an attack, Hurson said. And that “horrifying, life-changing journey” ultimately led to the crime.

“Make no mistake, this was a blatant fraud,” said Hurson, who added that he believed the fact that Rich is now a “diminished star” in the community was also a punishment.

But the judge added: “There is much more to your life than what you have done.”

Rich served in the military from 1998 to 2007. He was injured in a suicide bombing in Baqubah, Iraq, on August 23, 2005.

As early as 2006, Rich was able to walk and go about his daily life with little assistance. Although he was entitled to disability benefits, Rich did not report that his condition had improved.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General launched the investigation in 2018 as part of an effort to root out fraud, waste and abuse.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Rich was not intended to receive additional money set aside for those who permanently lose the use of their legs.

Rich told the VA during a recorded phone call in 2021 that he could not walk and showed up to two appointments in a wheelchair.

Investigators captured video or obtained surveillance footage showing him walking around outside his home without any assistance, going to a food truck and strolling through the mall.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen McGuinn asked for a sentence of nearly 3.5 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release.

Dixon described the crime as egregious. Rich, she said, was deliberately misleading at medical appointments to determine his benefits.

“This was not a passive fraud,” Dixon said. “It’s just a blatant, callous disregard for the law.”

At one point, Hurson wondered why it took so long for the government to expose the fraud. Rich admitted to a doctor in 2009 that his condition had improved, but he was afraid to report that information and lose the benefits.

Although Hurson noted that Dixon did not work for the VA, he asked, “How on earth could this happen?”

Meanwhile, Gerald Ruter, Rich’s attorney, asked the judge to spare his client from jail.

A jury, he said, returned a guilty verdict. “But unfortunately,” Ruter said, “the VA made theft as easy as taking candy from a baby.”

Ruter called a trio of character witnesses, including his client’s mother, Charisse Gordon, who described him as a good man, loving father and leader of the family. They begged the judge for mercy.

Rich also briefly addressed the court. “All I ask is your leniency,” he said.

Hurson told more than a dozen loved ones in the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse courtroom that they would be able to visit Rich during his sentence.

But they’ll have to do it at his house.