Veteran Nick Griffo Seeks Aid Against Retaliation
Tax deductible
Nicholas D. Griffo, 51, has 20 years of qualifying service with the Navy and Navy Reserves, including two years on active duty in the 1990s.
For years, active reserve duty wasn't counted as qualifying time toward post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Nick discovered mistakes were compounded by VA personnel and contractors failing to recognize the errors.
It ends up fostering a culture of handling claims quickly above all else.
Nick flagged problems with the VA to his bosses as early as 2008 but grew frustrated as time dragged on and problems continued. His service and work as a Navy career counselor gave him unusual insight into the Defense Department and VA issues.
In January 2020, the Defense Department investigated Nick's complaint. Yet, the federal agency never made its findings public. Nick provided the report to the Chicago Sun-Times, expressing disappointment that the government had not made it public after 22 months.
His performance review in October 2020 had only "exceptional" or "fully successful" marks and praised his "high proficiency and quality of work." However, the VA has suspended and demoted him from GS9 to GS6 for "improperly processing claims," essentially serving as a warning for others about speaking out on issues. Nick denies any wrongdoing and asserts the move is retaliation for his complaints.
An extended investigation of Nick’s complaint found widespread and longstanding problems with the federal government's administration of the GI Bill that could be at fault for veterans and their families being denied the money they were entitled to for college.
Because of inadequate record-keeping, the investigation found that some veterans were shortchanged on their service time — a key element in qualifying to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their children to pay for school.
In some cases, families were told they needed to repay college funds that the government had already paid for them.
Among the report's findings:
- "Known gaps" exist in service data for reservists from all branches and National Guard members because the various military branches failed to properly log some active-duty periods in their records.
- The errors meant those veterans were shorted on their qualifying service time toward valuable Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits they're entitled to.
Fundraising Purpose:
To assist Nick in recovering his legal costs incurred due to his legal battle with the VA over their retaliatory actions against him and their dismissive attitude toward all evidence and complaints he filed and provided to them.
Organizer
Whistleblowers of America (WoA)
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
