A former United States Marine, Paul John Herbert, has been sentenced in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts for submitting a false application for a Purple Heart. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni sentenced Herbert, 54, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., to two years of supervised release with the first year under home confinement. Herbert pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of making false statements after being indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023.
The case involved numerous false statements submitted by Herbert to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beginning on October 13, 2010. These statements concerned injuries purportedly related to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and were used to support a claim for disability compensation. As a result of these false claims, the VA overpaid Herbert $344,040 between January 1, 2010 and March 1, 2023.
On October 24, 2018, Herbert further attempted to bolster his claim by requesting assistance from his Congressman with his Purple Heart application. This request included a notarized letter falsely stating that 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 from the Springfield Branch Office and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg from the Major Crimes Unit.
