A Texas City man has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for stealing the identity of a Vietnam War veteran and using that identity to receive health care benefits, acting United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today. Gerry Lynn McAfee, 52, pleaded guilty to the federal charges Feb. 24, 2009.
McAfee received thousands of dollars of health care benefits between December 1999 and March 2007, by masquerading as a veteran. McAfee stole the identity of a real Vietnam veteran who resides in Alabama. The 33-month sentence represents the high end of the calculated guidelines range. The court also ordered McAfee to pay restitution in the amount of $99,607 and ordered him to serve a three-year-term of supervised release upon his release from prison.
McAfee has been in custody since his arrest in March 2007, at which time, he was a long-time fugitive, having escaped from prison in Alabama in 1978 after serving less than one year of a 44-year prison sentence for robbery and grand larceny.
This case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Administration – Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John R. Lewis.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas, press release