MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Ana Cobian- ana.cobian@wardcirclestrategies.com, (323) 360-1827

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS: Veterans from Across the Country

Veterans defrauded by the House of Prayer Christian Bible Church (HOPCC) are available for interviews—along with policy experts from Veterans Education Success. The FBI’s Operation “False Profit” indictments serve as both a warning and a call to action: scams targeting veterans will be punished, but dismantling oversight leaves future servicemembers at risk of losing their hard-earned benefits all over again.

Veterans Available Span Multiple States And Military Experiences:Two of the defrauded veterans attended House of Prayer in Georgia (one in Hinesville, one in Augusta), and two others attended the church in Tacoma, Washington.

  • Abigail Bradeen (Inchelium, WA): Solicited by HOPCC while on active duty at Fort Hood, TX, in 2004. Later recruited to the Augusta, GA, church while stationed at Fort Gordon.
  • Gregory Ward (Bloomfield, NJ): Attended the HOPCC church in Hinesville, GA.
  • Rosalie Wright (Longview, WA): Recruited with her husband in January 2006, shortly after arriving at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, WA.
  • Corey Sanford (Caseyville, IL): First approached while stationed in Japan. After returning to the U.S. in 2011, he attended the HOPCC church in California before moving with the group to Washington.

These veterans represent Georgia, Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey, underscoring the nationwide reach of the scam and the ongoing risk to servicemembers and their families.

Subject Matter Expert William Hubbard, vice president for veterans & military policy at Veterans Education Success also available to speak about the history of this case and the weak VA oversight and dismantling the Department of Education that puts future veterans’ hard-earned benefits at risk.

 VETERANS EDUCATION SUCCESS PIVOTAL IN BRINGING HOUSE OF PRAYER FRAUD CASE FORWARD

A Great Win—But Enforcement Is at Risk

Dismantling The Department Of Education Strips Away Critical Oversight &
 Leaves Veterans More Vulnerable To Abuse

WHAT HAPPENED:

The wheels of justice turned last week with indictments against eight leaders of the House of Prayer Christian Churches of America, including its founder, for charges of fraud and tax schemes that siphoned off millions in GI Bill benefits from military veterans. The churches operated six locations total, including near Georgia’s Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart, and Texas’s Fort Hood. The church’s locations include Hinesville, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Tacoma, Washington; Killeen, Texas; and Fayetteville, North Carolina. (Ref. House of Prayer, a Church Accused of Squeezing Veterans for Benefits, Stripped of GI Bill Eligibility | Military.com)

WHY IT MATTERS: 

  • Veterans Education Success was pivotal in exposing the scam. In 2019, they investigated and documented victim and whistleblower accounts, pressed VA to act, and generated the political and media attention that brought this case to federal authorities. Veterans Education Success is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families while protecting the integrity of the GI Bill and other federal education programs. See Veterans Education Success’s Statement here.
  • This is a major victory—and a strong message: If you scam veterans, you will be punished.
  • But the fight is not over. VA currently utilizes subpar standards and even conflicts of interest in the approval of GI Bill schools, as documented by Veterans Education Success in a report this year. This includes the particularly inappropriate approval of the House of Prayer, as revealed in the group’s analysis of government records. Moreover, enforcement is at risk as efforts to dismantle the Department of Education threaten the very oversight and accountability that protect American students from predatory schools.

QUOTE:

“This is a huge win for veterans. We exposed the House of Prayer in 2019 for preying on veterans and stealing their GI Bill benefits, and today’s indictments send a clear message: if you scam veterans, you will face justice. But enforcement is at risk—VA tolerates subpar standards and outright conflicts of interest in its employees and agents who approve schools, and dismantling the Department of Education would gut oversight and allow predatory schools to exploit many more students. And veterans never get their GI Bill back once it’s stolen. Policymakers must strengthen GI Bill approval standards and restore benefits to the veterans who were cheated out of their futures,” from William Hubbard, vice president for veterans & military policy at Veterans Education Success

WHAT’S NEXT:

 

  • Even after DOJ seizes assets, veterans never get their GI Bill back—leaving them without a degree and without the benefits they earned. Congress has legislation pending to restore GI Bill benefits to veterans who were defrauded. (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1391)
  • Without strong enforcement and oversight, predatory schools like House of Prayer will continue to defraud veterans out of their hard-earned GI Bill education benefits. Congress and the VA both need to strengthen the VA approval process and stop allowing conflicts of interest by the employees who issue the GI Bill stamp of approval on schools. And the dismantling of the Department of Education must stop.

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Veterans Education Success is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to work on a bipartisan basis to advance higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families and to protect the integrity and promise of the GI Bill and other federal postsecondary education programs. The organization offers free help, advice, and college and career counseling to veterans using the GI Bill and helps them participate in their democracy by engaging with policymakers. Veterans Education Success also provides non-partisan policy expertise to federal and state policymakers and conducts non-partisan research on issues of concern to student veterans. Additional information is available at vetsedsuccess.org.

VES- House of Prayer Indictments