New Mexico AG announces lawsuit against Las Cruces company that targets veterans
Jason Groves- New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against Disabled Veterans Consultants, Inc. for allegedly offering illegal consulting services to veterans.
- The lawsuit claims the company charged veterans for services related to disability benefits applications, which are offered for free by VA-accredited organizations.
- Torrez aims to shut down the business, seek restitution for affected veterans, and impose civil penalties.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez was in Las Cruces on Thursday, announcing a lawsuit in the 3rd Judicial District Court that accuses a Las Cruces business of offering illegal consulting services to disabled veterans.
Torrez announced the lawsuit alongside members of multiple veterans’ organizations at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6917 in Las Cruces.
The lawsuit named Disabled Veterans Consultants, Inc., as the primary defendant, along with John Sise, Graciela Lujan, Zeplin Global Group LLC., MJJL Holdings, LLC, and GTM Bookkeeping LLC. Sise is listed as the director and CEO of Disabled Veterans Consultants on the New Mexico Secretary of State database of business filings and Lujan is listed as a director in the complaint. The complaint alleges that Zeplin Global Group, MJJL Holdings and GTM Bookkeeping conspired with DVC to carry out illegal practices and collected payments from veterans for services provided.
The civil lawsuit alleges violations of the Unfair Practices Act and seeks restitution for affected veterans and the immediate shutdown of the business.
"While this is the first action we have taken against a claim shark in this space, it almost certainly won't be the last," Torrez said. "We are doing everything we can to make sure that veterans across the state know that this is something we are going to be looking into."
Disabled Veterans Consultants was established in 2020 and has an office on Wyatt Drive in Las Cruces. An email from the Sun-News seeking comment was not returned by press time.
"I know folks who have used these services and in some cases they are somewhat satisfied but what they don't realize is that same service could have been provided for free," said Veterans of Foreign Wars State Commander Brian Ravak. "For someone who is 100% VA disabled, that is about $4,000 a month and they are being charged for four to five months. That is $16,000 to $20,000 right off the top they have to pay these companies."
Disabled Veterans Consultants not licensed to provide services
The complaint describes Disabled Veterans Consultants as a predatory business.
In order to apply for disability benefits, veterans are required to submit documentation to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where they are evaluated and assigned a disability rating based on the severity of their condition.
Help with preparing and submitting applications are offered for free by VA accredited Veterans Service Organizations throughout New Mexico. The complaint accuses Disabled Veterans Consultants of charging veterans for services despite lacking accreditation and claiming they can speed up the application process for veterans seeking to increase their disability rating in order to increase benefit payments.
Additionally, Disabled Veterans Consultants charges an upfront fee, which is refundable if the application is unsuccessful, as well as a back-end fee for successful applications. According to the complaint, any fees charged for services to veterans violate federal laws since the business nor its employees are accredited to assist with VA benefits claims.
Torrez said it's unclear how many veterans in New Mexico may be victims in the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks:
- Restitution to persons harmed by the business.
- Preventing the business from continuing to operate.
- Ordering rescission of Disabled Veterans Consultants contracts.
- Ordering civil penalties of $5,000 per willful violation of the Unfair Practices Act.
Ravak said Thursday was the first time he heard the name of the defendant, but that similar practices have been occurring for decades.
As a result, he supports future efforts at the state and federal level to expand and fund services provided by Veterans Services Organizations.
Ravak said the VFW publishes a list of 12 or more claim shark companies, but that some veterans simply don't know that services exist for free.
"If they are not accredited VSO, our VSOs can be held liable for fines and jail time if they fraudulently do something against that veteran," Ravak said. "These claim shark companies, there is no penalty. Whatever fees they want to charge they can commit fraud on the VA benefits this veteran is receiving and there is no penalty under the law right now."