Veteran: State AG violating his rights
The state attorney general’s office petitioned Washington County Court to compel a New Eagle resident to answer the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s inquiry into his handling of veterans’ benefit cases.
The attorney general’s office subpoenaed Carl F. Miller Jr. this summer “to answer various inquiries” about his soliciting and contracting with veterans, but the Bureau of Consumer Protection outlined to the court his failure to appear and his ignoring phone messages and an email.
The Bureau of Consumer Protection is seeking copies of advertising and promotional literature back to Jan. 1, 2009, regarding Miller’s ability to secure benefits for veterans from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
The court filing specifically mentions the case of William W. Shaffer Jr., in which he and Miller litigated at the magisterial and arbitration level. Shaffer won at both levels. Miller, who is acting as his own attorney and was certified to proceed as a pauper, appealed the unanimous decision of a panel of arbitrators to Washington County Court.
Miller, 52, a disabled U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Persian Gulf War, said last week he had not received a copy of the petition the attorney general’s office filed with the court.
He was chaplain of American Legion Post No. 377 from 2010-11 and commander from July 2012 to late winter 2013, but his membership was later revoked.
Of Shaffer’s dealings with the VA, Miller said, “I spent about six months running around gathering up paperwork. They want documents? I don’t have anything. We’re talking about a couple guys sitting around a bar, and he asked me to do this stuff. At the post level, we’re all volunteers.”
He called the attorney general’s involvement a “fishing expedition” and a “violation of my Fourth Amendment rights. There hasn’t been any complaint filed against me. I don’t have anything, and I’m not some giant legal corporation filing on behalf of veterans. All I am is just an average guy.”
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits unreasonable search and seizure and requires a warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.
“I’ll bring an action against the attorney general’s office for this harassment if I have to,” Miller said. “Show me whatever complaint has been filed against me.”
In June, the attorney general’s office served Miller with an administrative subpoena, directing him to appear at the Bureau of Consumer Protection on July 9, bringing with him documents related to his attempts to secure government benefits on behalf of third parties, including, but not limited to Shaffer. The bureau also wanted to see any accreditations and certificates the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, the Pennsylvania Department of State or other governmental entity may have issued to him, and any litigation he filed or was filed against him since 2009.
He failed to appear, and an exchange of messages followed, rescheduling his appearance for July 23, but he again failed to appear, according to the attorney general’s office.
In a document filed with Washington County Court, the Bureau of Consumer Protection claims Miller sought and accepted payment of at least $6,500 from a veteran and initiated a lawsuit against Shaffer, citing a federal law and regulations that govern the ability of individuals to represent those seeking VA benefits.
According to the attorney general’s office, a person is prohibited from accepting payment for these services unless they are accredited by the VA. A one-time exemption applies only to those who don’t accept compensation for their services.
The state launched an investigation of Miller to determine whether he is representing himself as an individual accredited to seek VA benefits, but Jesse F. Harvey, senior deputy director of the attorney general’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in Pittsburgh, is seeking his cooperation in completing its investigation of his business practices.
In a separate court case to which the attorney general’s office referred, Miller claimed in a filing with District Judge Joshua Kanalis’ office that in December 2011, Shaffer, of Daisytown, reneged on a verbal contract for special delivery services to be paid by June 2013 and owes him $7,000.
According to a document in the case file, Miller said an attorney would charge more than 30 percent of the award to handle the claim, but that Miller would provide his services in exchange for 10 percent. Shaffer noted, “Willing to accept almost anything and in my need for assistance, I agreed to his help,” and he paid Miller $7,000 in cash. “It was after this payment that I was alerted by the American Legion that he was not authorized to take any payments short of $25 for postage” for any services provided by a Post 377, California, American Legion services officer.
Shaffer, in a statement filed with the court, said he intends to pursue the return of the $7,000.