Scott Waldman
Times Union
Nov 13, 2008
November 13, 2008 - A high-ranking U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrator from Guilderland has been placed on paid leave in the wake of an investigation into his office.
Joseph Collorafi was suspended last month as chief of veterans affairs at the New York City regional VA office, said Keith Thompson, acting director of the office.
The investigation revealed that someone in the regional office intentionally entered claim documents from veterans with incorrect dates — called "backdating" — into an internal database, VA spokeswoman Alison Aikele said Wednesday.
"They would make it look like they were processing claims faster than they really were," said Aikele, who works in Washington, D.C. Changing the dates made it appear that the management was not "severely underperforming," according to Aikele.
She said the leadership of the office in Manhattan was replaced and the individuals who left would not be returning. She maintained that no veterans were affected by the backdating.
In recent weeks, 41 of 57 regional VA offices across the country have come under scrutiny over the possible shredding of supporting evidence in claims filed by veterans. Next week, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Rep. Bob Filner of California, will hold a hearing on the destruction of the records.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11628
