A former United States Marine, Paul John Herbert, was sentenced in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts for submitting a false Purple Heart application. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni sentenced Herbert, 54, from Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, to two years of supervised release with the first year under home confinement. In March 2025, Herbert pleaded guilty to making false statements after being indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
Herbert began submitting false statements on October 13, 2010, to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), claiming IED-related injuries to support a disability compensation claim. As a result of these false claims, the VA overpaid him $344,040 between January 1, 2010 and March 1, 2023.
On October 24, 2018, Herbert requested assistance from his Congressman for his Purple Heart application. The request included a notarized letter falsely stating he had been injured by a roadside explosion.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office; and Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Northeast Field Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit.
