ST. LOUIS – A veteran from Berkeley, Missouri, appeared in federal court on Tuesday and admitted stealing $106,245 in disability benefits from the Veterans Administration through false medical claims.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Charles Adams, 50, claimed to have physical limitations and applied for various benefits, but was later seen working out at a gym.
According to court documents, Adams applied for an increase in disability benefits in, citing degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis from his time in the service. In April 2017, he reported difficulty getting out of bed and problems standing up for long periods. A VA examiner reported that Adams walked slowly and had a noticeable limp.
When he returned to the VA for reexamination that November, Adams claimed to have limitations regarding his range of motion, rotation, and other use of his back.
In February 2018, Adams filed for individual unemployability benefits with the VA. He included a doctor’s notice reiterating his claims of limited mobility and a diminished capacity to bend, jump, kneel, lift, run, sit, squat, stand, and walk. Adams received another medical exam in March.
Shortly after that March checkup, Adams was seen on several Instagram videos performing numerous exercises of what prosecutors referred to as “high levels of resistance,” such as deep squats, leg presses of more than 800 pounds, rope pulldowns, and other movements that contradicted his prior claims.
Adams went on to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits in August 2019, and again falsely claimed he was physically limited by injury.
However, federal investigators learned Adams went to a local Club Fitness gym the day before a July 2020 hearing on his application, the day of, and the day after that hearing. Adams continued working out at the gym in 2020 and 2021.
In June 2021, Adams was summoned to attend a VA medical review of his claims. Adams appeared at the meeting with a cane and walked at a deliberately slow pace. Prior to the review, investigators recorded video of Adams walking normally and carrying bags of trash out to a dumpster.
Adams pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced on Oct. 25.