Michigan veteran gets 5 years for fraud over faked injuries

A Michigan veteran has been sentenced to five years in prison after investigators who followed him discovered he had faked injuries that allowed him to claim more than $260,000 in federal benefits. Prosecutors say 53-year-old Joseph Gray of Lawton repeatedly claimed he had lost the use of his legs and left hand in order to obtain the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. But the Kalamazoo Gazette reports investigators saw him walking and using his left hand. A jury convicted Gray in April of conspiracy to defraud the government, making a false statement to the VA and other charges. The federal judge who sentenced Gray to a five-year prison term also ordered him to pay more than $264,000 in restitution.