Dad Is Getting Collection Letters From The Va

Location: WA

Around 10 years ago, my father started his fiduciary business. My two sisters and I didn’t think he needed to do it since he was recently retired, but my mother said it was going to be good for him because it would occupy his mind and time. When it first started out, everything was fine. He would pick up clients from various sources and help them manage their finances.

Fast-forward five years. My mother passed away unexpectedly. Dad was still doing the fiduciary business, but by this time, he had picked up more and more clients, with all of them being VA clients. My sisters and I never understood why he had so many clients. He had around 20 at one time, with nine being clients through the VA. He didn’t seem to make that much money from them, and he always seemed to be stressed because the clients would call asking for money or other help. We tried to tell him to stop because he didn’t need the money anymore, since he was now receiving my mom’s retirement funds, but he didn’t listen to us. He kept running the business and dealing with the stress of all the phone calls.

Three years ago, my father pulled my sisters and me aside and told us that the VA was suing him for misuse of funds. To say that all of us were in complete shock would be an understatement! For years, our dad had always taught us that being honest was the only way to live life. My dad had never been in trouble with the law, so being sued caught us off guard. He told my sisters and me not to worry about it and that it was just a big mistake. We took him at his word and forgot about it.

However, a few months later, something unexpected happened. My older sister was over at my parents’ house helping Dad with his computer. He doesn’t know much about computers, so when things start acting weird, it’s usually my older sister who helps him out. While my sister was using my dad’s computer, he was checking through his emails and noticed something shocking and quite depressing.

We found out that my dad had been having an affair two years before my mom passed away. Worse yet, we found out that during the days my mom was undergoing cancer treatment, he was off having affairs in hotels. Room receipts, email exchanges, and other evidence were all there. Like I said, my dad is computer illiterate and doesn’t realize that Gmail will store undeleted emails for a very long time.

Once my sister found out about that bombshell, she decided to dig deeper to see if there was anything more to it. It turns out he was finding these 20-year-old women on dating sites. When my sister checked my parents’ bank accounts (my mom had given her access before she passed away), she found out that my dad had been withdrawing thousands of dollars from my mom’s retirement funds and cutting checks to these girls he met online.

Fast-forward to a couple of months ago. When we went to his house, we noticed that my dad had started receiving collection notices from a collection agency connected to the VA. That is when the whole scope of what was going on came to light. Between the nine VA clients, they are saying he misused funds in excess of $600,000.

When confronted with the letters, my dad said they were all lies and that he was innocent. He keeps telling my sisters and me that a judge signed off on all his accountings for the VA clients. However, my sisters and I don’t buy a single word of it. We think it has something to do with all the girls he was been hanging around with.

What really frustrates us is that he is still in the fiduciary business. He lost the VA clients, but still has the regular ones. What’s worse is that he has spent more in attorney fees in the past year than what he made the entire time he was a fiduciary.

My sisters and I think there is something more to it. My older sister created an account with the federal court search system, PACER, but nothing comes up. We are trying to figure out exactly what the VA is saying my father did before taking action. The collection letters keep coming, and what’s even scarier about them is that they are threatening to place a lien on the house—the same house that my mom fell in love with during her childhood.

We all don’t understand why he keeps practicing his fiduciary business with everything going on. Wouldn’t the state take away his license? We checked the state’s website, and it still shows that his license is valid.

We also don’t understand why he hasn’t been arrested yet. I would imagine that if you stole over half a million dollars from VA clients, the government would come after you not only in a civil matter, but in a criminal one as well.

I guess what I am asking is, what should my sisters and I do to protect my mother’s house from the VA going after it? My dad won’t tell us the truth, and we can’t seem to find anything related to a lawsuit against my dad. Also is there a way to find out why the VA is saying my dad misused funds ?

Thanks in advance !