Lakewood Veterans Charged With Falsifying Mileage Reimbursements

Four Lakewood veterans are accused of falsifying their mileage statements for reimbursement to and from the Veterans Affairs Office.

The Lakewood residents —  Rebecca Dickson, 51; Mark Sheline, 54; Scott Sheline, 56; and Raymond Williams, 54 — are among 16 veterans indicted on charges that they inflated the returns for their travel reimbursement — representing a greater distance of travel they actually traveled.

Dickson and Williams are also charged with making false statement to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Steven M. Dettelbach, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said that the total amount of money taken by all 16 indicted was more than $250,000.

“Theft from the public coffers will not be tolerated, whether it is a contractor inflating construction costs or citizens submitting false mileage reimbursements,” Dettelbach said in a news release.

Those charged in the indictment are (included is how much they are accused of stealing):

• Andre Baird, age 54, of Cleveland ($8,780.71)
• Mandell Calvin, age 55, of Cleveland ($3,459.49)
• Robert Daniels, age 54, of Warren ($30,144.67)
• Rebecca Dickson, age 51, of Lakewood ($6,712.82)
• Thurman Harris, age 59, of East Cleveland ($12,575.70)
• Steven Holt, age 54, of Oakwood Village ($11,925.34)
• Ivan Jackson, age 54, of Cleveland ($13,477.88)
• Timothy Knotts, age 54, of Akron ($9,326.53)
• Nathaniel Marshall, age 52, of Cleveland ($8,052.54)
• Amm Pearson, age 55, of Euclid ($8,257.37)
• Thomas Scott, age 49, of Roanoke, AL ($22,104.35)
•  James Sharpe, age 62, of Sandusky ($19,210.58)
• Mark Sheline, age 54, of Lakewood ($15,708.65)
• Scott Sheline, age 56, of Lakewood ($36,979.40)
• Anthony Shumpert, age 54, of Akron ($17,134.51)
• Raymond Williams, age 54, of Lakewood ($17,455.57)

Certain veterans who became disabled following their service and/or who meet certain income requirements can qualify for mileage reimbursements when driving to receive medical attention, according to the news release.