Former Cashier at Veterans Affairs Medical Center Sentenced to Prison for Stealing from Patients

Summary

A press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania, dated March 18, 2024, announcing that United States Senior District Judge Nora Bary Fischer sentenced Corey Mizell to six months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release. According to information presented to the Court, Mizell, an agent cashier at the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, embezzled money from veterans' patient accounts, and a written confession estimated $17,660 taken from three veterans. A Department of Labor Office of Inspector General investigation found that Mizell falsely stated on a pandemic benefits application that he was not a federal employee and collected benefits totaling $38,400. The judge ordered over $57,000 in restitution to the four veterans and the government.

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PRESS RELEASE



Former Cashier at Veterans Affairs
Medical Center Sentenced to Prison
for Stealing from Patients and
Engaging in Pandemic Assistance
Fraud
Monday, March 18, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal
court to six months of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release,
in connection with his conviction for embezzling money from disabled veterans’
accounts and conducting a mail fraud scheme to obtain pandemic unemployment
assistance, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

United States Senior District Judge Nora Bary Fischer imposed the sentence on Corey
Mizell, 51.

According to information presented to the Court, Mizell previously worked as an agent
cashier at the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. In
January 2021, the sister of a deceased veteran called the VA Police after reviewing the
balance in her brother’s patient account. According to the sister, her brother was
essentially bedridden due to his disability and the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus could
not spend the amount of cash withdrawn from his account. The VA Police opened an
investigation into the account activity and questioned Mizell, the teller who conducted
each withdrawal.

Mizell initially informed the VA Police that someone must have misrepresented their
identity to him in order to fraudulently obtain the funds. Mizell also opined that he was
an easy target for such a scheme since he recently had become an agent cashier. The
investigation revealed that Mizell would call for authorization to withdraw funds from
patients who were either on COVID lockdown or who could not leave their room
without an escort due to their disabilities. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office
of Inspector General (VA-OIG) confronted Mizell after driving by his residence to find
the backyard and exterior of his home being remodeled.

Following his interview with the VA-OIG, Mizell provided a written confession in which
he admitted to “fraudulently taking money…from accounts of veterans.” Mizell, also a
wedding DJ, attributed his conduct to losing income during the pandemic and unpaid
bills. Mizell identified three veterans from whom he took money, estimating the total
amount stolen as $17,660, and resigned from the VA in April 2021.

Mizell omitted from his written confession that he also embezzled funds from a fourth
veteran and that he also fraudulently applied for and obtained pandemic
unemployment assistance. A separate investigation conducted by the U.S. Department
of Labor Office of Inspector General revealed that Mizell filed an electronic application
for pandemic benefits in April 2020. Despite working for the VA since 2016, Mizell falsely
stated that he was not a federal employee. Beginning in May 2020, Mizell falsified that
he was not working full time, when he was in fact working full time as an agent cashier.
After his resignation from the VA, Mizell certified on a weekly basis that he was
unemployed due to the pandemic. These falsifications allowed Mizell to collect
pandemic benefits totaling $38,400.

In imposing Mizell’s sentence, Judge Fischer denied the defendant’s request for a non-
incarceration sentence, finding it striking that Mizell, himself a veteran, embezzled
money from other veterans. The judge further stated that Mizell did not just steal money
from the government, but also stole money from veterans and their families, with some
of Mizell’s victims so disabled that they could not even walk to his cashier window.
Judge Fischer also ordered Mizell to serve the first six months of his supervised release
(following his imprisonment) at home on an electronic location monitor, and to pay over
$57,000 in restitution to the four veterans and the government.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna prosecuted this case on behalf of
the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Department of Labor Office of Inspector
General and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General for the extensive
and collaborative investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Mizell.

Updated March 18, 2024

Topic
FINANCIAL FRAUD
Component
USAO - Pennsylvania, Western


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