Raymond Kenneth Musgrove has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for carrying out a decades-long fraud scheme in which he stole the identity of a Vietnam veteran to obtain government benefits and services, federal prosecutors announced.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pennell sentenced the 78-year-old on May 7 in Spokane. In addition to the prison term, Musgrove was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,025,544.69 in restitution to the United States. The court also imposed a $1,100 special assessment.
Musgrove previously pleaded guilty to two counts of false representation of a Social Security number, five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government funds. Following a bench trial, he was also found guilty of three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Federal investigators said the fraud scheme stretched back more than 25 years. Beginning around 1997, Musgrove allegedly assumed the identity of a real U.S. Marine Corps veteran identified in court records as J.M.C., who served in Vietnam.
While posing as the veteran, prosecutors said Musgrove obtained Veterans Affairs disability compensation benefits, received healthcare services through the Department of Veterans Affairs, opened financial accounts using the victim’s identity and submitted false documents to maintain and restore benefits.
Authorities said the scheme continued even after the real J.M.C. died in 2018. Investigators said Musgrove falsely claimed the death report was made in error and convinced agencies to resume benefit payments.
The fraud was ultimately uncovered in 2023 after Musgrove attempted to obtain additional benefits, according to court records.
In total, prosecutors said Musgrove fraudulently received more than $860,000 in federal benefits, contributing to the more than $1 million restitution order.
Before imposing the sentence, Judge Pennell condemned the lengthy deception.
“Your offense conduct was lengthy and very troubling. I don’t think it can be fairly characterized as just a mistake,” Pennell told Musgrove in court. “You had been living a lie for decades.”
Pennell also noted that Musgrove appeared unconcerned about the impact the fraud had on the victim and the victim’s family, adding that his pattern of putting himself first “stops today.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano said the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crimes.
“Mr. Musgrove carried out a calculated and deeply troubling fraud for decades, exploiting the identity of a military veteran to steal over a million dollars in benefits intended for those who have honorably served our country,” Serrano said.
Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General also praised the outcome of the case, saying the investigation protected resources intended for veterans and taxpayers.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frieda K. Zimmerman prosecuted the case.
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