A local Veterans Affairs official is accused of financial misdealings for arranging to have herself transferred from the East Coast to St. Paul, keeping a higher rate of pay for a lower level of responsibility and claiming more than $100,000 in moving expenses.
The VA inspector general's office said it has referred the case of Kimberly Graves and another VA official to the U.S. attorney for possible criminal prosecution. It also recommends that actions be taken to decide whether Graves, who remains head of the VA's St. Paul office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, should return $129,000 in moving expenses.
"We determined Ms. Graves inappropriately used her position of authority for personal and financial benefit when she participated personally and substantially in creating an opportunity for her own transfer to the St. Paul [Veterans Affairs Regional Office]," said the report released Monday.
The case involves high-level officials in the Veterans Benefits Administration, the arm of the VA that handles issues such as disability compensation and other forms of financial assistance to veterans and their dependents. It is different from the Veterans Health Administration, which administers medical care at VA hospitals and clinics, which also has come under fire.
The inspector general found that the Veterans Benefits Administration often used moves of senior executives as a method to justify annual salary increases and used the VA's transfer policies to pay moving expenses for the employees. It recommended that the VA strengthen the approval process and require an independent review to ensure moves and expenses are justified.
"This report is simply the latest in a long line of investigations showing VA officials helping themselves instead of helping America's veterans," Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said in a statement.
The allegations are "outrageous," Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said in a statement.
"VA officials manipulating the trust and placing their own personal benefit before the needs of veterans is unacceptable," he said.