Pow network reviews and complaints

On May 2nd of this year, one day before the infamous VA laptop was reported stolen; veteran’s rights advocates Beery and Simes filed a formal complaint with the Department of Veterans Affair, Office of Inspector General (VAOIG). Beery and Simes suspected Chuck and Mary Schantag, owners on the WWW.POWNETWORK.ORG were illegally accessing their personal information from the VA. Jere Beery provided the VAOIG with emails sent from the Schantags claiming they had ‘friends’ within the VAOIG that would sift through records and provide them with any information they requested. In one email, associate of the Schantags, Diane ‘AKA Gunny Di’ Weller claimed the group had already captured Jere Beery’s Social Security number. Weller also stated that the official records the Schantags receive would contain all information and that nothing would be blacked out. Publicly, the Schantags stated they receive all of their information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Privately, they boast they could get any military or VA records on anyone through their friends within the VA.

The event that started this entire story was when Jere Beery learned he was under unauthorized investigation by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POW Network. The questionable investigation came about when Diane Weller publicly accused Beery of falsifying his military service record and embellishing his DD214. Gene Simes was also targeted for a similar shake down by the group.

POWNETWORK.ORG are VALOR VULTURES; they exploit the sick, demented desire of many Americans--particularly some veterans who are overly in love with themselves (narcissism)--to find someone "pretending to be a Soldier" to bully and humiliate them without any due process of law--by themselves of course; as a vigilante group--so if no due diligence is done to find the facts and they just happen to falsely accuse a veteran of being "phony", they themselves will not serve prison terms for false accusations. When the Valor Vultures are forced into admitting they are wrong, they take the web page down and never apologize for their disgusting Nazi-like crimes.

Sadly, I am not alone; I know of so far 6 other veterans who have been wrongly defamed by POWNETWORK.ORG; one of them, veteran Jere Beery well-intentionally placed his DD-214 report of his military service on the internet hoping to prove his background--only to have it used as a veritable Pandora's Box from which Valor Vultures nit-picked it to try to find offense--and failing that--make-up ones to harp on so they could have a convenient public victim to feed their racket.

They whine about "Stolen Valor"--when this is exactly what they themselves do against actual veterans--particularly vulnerable ones suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who are not ready to play "Junior Lawyer" in order to defend themselves from their harassment--which is why the Schantags are VALOR VULTURES.

POWNETWORK.ORG, a tax-evading, criminal scam corporation run from Skidmore, Missouri by Chuck and Mary Schantag have posted an illegal, defamatory web page accusing me of somehow being a "phony"--which shows they have a reckless disregard for the truth and facts.

In my case, an unbalanced nut job--Sean Patrick Kraft who goes on 66-day hunger strikes and posts videos on how to build illegal machine guns began to cyberstalk me by calling my Air-Mech-Strike: Asymmetric Maneuver Warfare for the 21st Century co-author retired LTC Richard Liebert to try to ascertain my home address.

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http://www.veteranvoice.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=279
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Interesting that you would say that about unknown campaigns...I can't get anything more than a

DD214 that says I was honorably Discharged. They claim that my records were distroyed. I have

been trying for thirty years to get an accurate 201 file. But hey...sometimes stuff

happens...fortunately I was and am still pissed off enough that I make no claims on the

military for bennefits that have been slowly and surely stripped away from the veterans.

As for the a-holes at POWNET I would love to see who is feeding them information since I've

already caught them in several lies, and would love to see fraud chargesw brought against them,

along with blackmail and extortion.

When you finish this article you will be faced with a decision. You will either choose to

ignore that this is going on, or you will help find a way to stop it.
One of the most common symptoms associated with combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

is paranoia, the delusional fear that someone is out to hurt you. Recent revelations within the

nation’s veteran community seem to imply these fears are not all that imaginary.
The Veterans Administration was originally established as a ‘non-adversarial’ agency, and our

veterans have always considered the VA as a ‘sanctuary’. Those two words are at the root of

this entire article. The VA was a place where a vet down on his luck could get a cup of coffee

and a hot meal, or the place a sick vet could count on being treated and cared for without fear

of ridicule or unwarranted scrutiny. The vet always knew he/she could find unconditional

‘compassion’, ‘understanding’, and ‘prayer’ within the walls of a VA facility. Any vet could

walk through the doors of a VA and know they were safe and not in danger. Well, the VA has

apparently changed their ideology and method of operation.
There is currently a group of self-appointed “government agents” targeting disabled veterans

receiving disability compensation from the VA. Their objective is to locate and prosecute

disabled veterans that are receiving VA disability compensation that they are not entitled to.

Their main focus is on veterans with a PTSD rating. They claim that the VA healthcare system is

being bilked dry by phony PTSD claims. However, they cannot provide data to support their

outrageous accusations. They operate with the full support and cooperation of the VA Inspector

General’s office and other major law enforcement agencies. According to Chuck and Mary Schantag

of Skidmore, Missouri and owners of the POW Network (www.pownetwork.org), they have friends

within the VA and DOD that will provide them with any personal information on a veteran they

are investigating. In a recent email forwarded to my office, Mary Schantag wrote; “YES we

continue to turn phonies and frauds and goldiggers into the VA IG and the FBI and law

enforcement on a daily basis with a great team and huge support”. (Ed. Note: Misspelling,

capitalization, and sentence structure are the results of a direct quote via email.) In another

email, POW Network associate and group member Mr. Gary Assell of Montgomery, Illinois and owner

of Viper’s Web Page made this statement to justify their operations; “All disabled veterans are

NOT the targets, only those who have obtained benefits through fraud and misrepresentation,

which is punishable under Title 38 USC. It is a proven fact that veterans who have fraudulently

received benefits or medical care through fraud or misrepresentation HAVE cost the VA millions

of dollars”.
This is not the first time we have heard of the POW Network and their questionable operations.

Exactly one year ago, this same group harassed Mr. Gene Simes and myself and even boasted of

acquiring our Social Security numbers without our consent. In an email exchange the Schantags

made this statement; “We cannot afford to have some "friends" compromised as they search

through files for the truth on this. And we meet with the VA IG Friday...” Mr. Simes and I

filed a complaint with the VA Inspector General’s office and a formal investigation was

launched. The investigation concluded the Schantags committed no crime, the case was dropped,

and they continue their questionable relationship as informants with the VA IG today. The most

notable and curious fact about our first encounter with the POW Network was Mr. Simes and I

called our complaint into the VA Inspector Generals Office on May 1, 2006. On May 3, 2006 the

Department of Veterans Affairs “announced they had lost a computer containing personal

information on 26.5 million veterans (including Social Security numbers)…”
Another Key associate of the POW Network group is a former Navy SEAL with 27 years in the

service. Captain Larry Bailey of Chocowinity, North Carolina is probably best known for his

association with the book; ‘Stolen Valor’, which was about veterans claiming military service

or awards they were not entitled to. The Stolen Valor book spawned a rash of individuals

subscribing to the theory that many of our veterans were frauds and the budget short-falls the

VA was experiencing was due to phony veterans within the VA system. In a recent email sent to

my office by Larry Bailey, he stated; “far too many veterans and phonies are bilking the VA out

of hundreds of millions of dollars, and Congress will not allow the VA to do the investigation

that is necessary to stop the fraud. Unless and until the fraudulent VA claimants are ferreted

out and dealt with, I will not lend ANY support to any effort to give that corrupt agency

another nickel. I am surprised that you would advocate pumping billions more down that

bureaucratic rat hole. In another email Bailey said; “Thank God that I don't have to depend on

VA for assistance I really need, and I don't rip them off for false PTSD like a LOT of people

do. And I have two good friends who are doing just that, saying that "I might as well get

mine, " or words to that effect. One of them even encourages me to get some myself. It makes me

sick. That is what I was trying to explain to Jere Beery; he clearly didn't want to hear that.”

This author wonders if Mr. Bailey has exposed these two “close friends” as frauds on the POW

Network website, or has he remained silent while these individuals continue to supposedly

defraud the VA. A third possibility is that Mr. Bailey is exaggerating these claims in order to

support his own position. Only Mr. Bailey can be entirely certain as to the truth in this

matter.
These statements combined with the many complaints I receive from veterans stating they had

been wrongly harassed, intimidated and publicly humiliated by the POW Network, paints a very

ugly picture. Many veterans think the Schantags are using the sacred ‘Prisoner of War Movement’

to hide more sinister activities. Although the POW Network was originally established to

address issues concerning the accounting of Prisoners of War and Missing in action, their

objectives now have taken a very vile turn. They now apparently think they are a law

enforcement arm for the entire veteran community. There is a VERY big difference between a

person that illegally claims military awards they are not entitled to, and a sick veteran

suffering from a medical condition (such as PTSD) which has suicidal tenancies associated with

it. In this writer’s opinion, after many years of involvement in veteran’s affairs, it is not

in the best interest of our disabled veterans to cast unwarranted blame on them, or to question

any medical condition they may have which is recognized and diagnosed by the VA. Especially

when sensitive emotional and mental issues are involved. The veteran community does not need

this ridicule, scrutiny, or intimidation by any one, much less a self-appointed group of

informants.
It is unknown if the Schantags or anyone else in the group receives anything in return from the

VA for the veterans they turn in. However, they do receive donations and endorsements from

private sources and a number of veteran service organizations. They have also reaped the

rewards of their notoriety in connection with Stolen Valor. Unfortunately, their exploits now

are causing mistrust within the veteran community and unnecessary pain and grief to veterans

and their families.
Over the next few weeks ‘Operation Firing For Effect’ will be asking the hard questions of the

VA, FBI, and several veteran service organizations. We want to know if they can verify that

there is in fact a large number of frauds enrolled in the VA healthcare system, and if they

condone, or participate in the ‘predatory’ tactics used by the POW Network. To date, we have

spoken with 3 national veteran service organizations headquartered in Washington, DC; the

Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Blinded Veterans Association, and the American Legion.

All three stated they do not scrutinize the disability ratings of their membership, and they

have no data to support the VA has experienced a high percentage of bogus disability claims.
If it is true that the VA has become so corrupt and inept that they are incapable of

administering the rules and regulations governing the distribution of disability compensation,

and that this has resulted in hundreds of thousands of disabled veterans receiving compensation

that they are not entitled to, the American public has the right to know this as soon as humanly possible.

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Ask yourself these questions; Have we become so callus and bitter as a Nation that we feel the

need to look for ways to discredit our veterans? What training or certification does the POW

Network have that allows them to involve themselves in the ‘personal’ medical issues of a

veteran? With the current URGENT needs of our most recent disabled veterans returning home from

Afghanistan and Iraq is this ‘witch hunt mentality’ really helping the situation, or hurting?

Does it really matter to the majority of Americans if a few boarder-line PTSD cases filed by

‘Verified Former Military Personnel’ fall through the cracks? Is it really worth the risk of

targeting the wrong veteran with false accusations and triggering a tragedy? And finally, what

does any of this have to do with accounting for our Prisoners of War or Missing in Action?
It is not the intent of this article to imply fraud is acceptable under any circumstances. And

this article is not intended to protect the fraudulent from exposure and/or prosecution.

However, PTSD is a very sensitive medical condition that is better left to the medical

professionals to diagnose and treat, not the POW Network. There is very little doubt in my mind

that the number of fraud cases within the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and Food

Stamp programs far exceeds any possible number of cases within the VA.
If this article has upset you and you feel compelled to stop this unwarranted attack on our

disabled veterans, contact your local media and ask them to investigate this story. Remember;

if you do nothing, you can expect nothing to change. If you love your freedom, thank a vet!