Man Enters Plea After Falsifying Military Service Details, Receiving Benefits And Care

CATONSVILLE, MD — A 51-year-old Catonsville man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after illegally obtaining Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration benefits, prosecutors say.

According to his guilty plea, Marvin Deboulet enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 2010 and officially entered duty for basic training on May 5, 2010. Then on Dec. 2, 2010, Deboulet went absent without official leave of duty (AWOL) from military service.

On June 6, 2011, Deboulet was charged by summary court martial with a period of desertion ending on March 22, 2011. The U.S. Army formally discharged Deboulet “under conditions other than honorable” on Nov. 18, 2011. Prior to and after 2010, Deboulet never served in any branch of the U.S. military.

In June 2012, Deboulet sought care from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Loma Linda, California. On his application for treatment, Deboulet indicated that he was discharged honorably and checked a box stating that he was a purple heart recipient. Deboulet also submitted documents falsely claiming that he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and suffered combat-related mental and physical injuries during military service from 2003 and 2005. Deboulet falsely stated that he was the sole survivor of a Humvee bombing in Kosovo, too. As a result of Deboulet’s misrepresentations, the VA provided Deboulet with medical care and associated costs that he was not entitled to, prosecutors noted.

In October 2014, Deboulet sought SSA benefits in Hagerstown. Deboulet provided false information, specifically that he served in the U.S. Marine Corps from Feb. 26, 1994, until Nov. 23, 2005. Based on its rules as of June 2012, the SSA determined Deboulet was disabled based on information he provided, and a pending claim that he referenced with a VA medical facility. As a result of its findings, the SSA awarded Deboulet and his son benefits. Deboulet fraudulently received $143,128.27 in benefit funds that he was not entitled to, prosecutors noted.

Deboulet faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for wire fraud.