CLEVELAND — The founder of a nonprofit veterans charity based in Cuyahoga County will spend the next four years in prison for both lying to former military members and scamming the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of roughly $20 million.
Florida native Richard Rompala, 65, was one of four members of Senior Veterans Administration Services to be charged in the scheme last year. Prosecutors say he would reach out to veterans and tell them they were eligible for certain services and benefits when they were actually not, and instead sent their falsified info to the VA in order to receive money before pocketing the cash himself.
“Rompala’s scheme preyed on veterans who were simply seeking help,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said in a statement. “Today’s sentence delivers justice and sends a clear message that fraud targeting veterans will not be tolerated.”…