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“I took early responsibility and built a mitigation narrative. The judge recognized my military service and granted probation.”
How is a veteran sentenced for VA purchase card fraud?
Kevin Rumph Jr. called White Collar Advice the same day his draft presentence report arrived. He had already pleaded guilty to using his government credit card, as a purchasing agent at a VA clinic in Georgia, to buy medical equipment and resell it for his own profit. He expected 46 to 57 months in federal prison.
Eielson, Langley, Tallil
Kevin is the son of an Army veteran. He joined the Air Force at 18 and started at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, then moved to Langley in Virginia. In 2003 he landed at Tallil Airbase in Iraq, where he lived through mortar attacks, locusts, floods, and a dust storm. He left the Air Force in 2006 as a Staff Sergeant, joined Solid Rock Pentecostal Church, and married a fellow Air Force veteran.
In 2012 the Department of Veterans Affairs hired him as a purchasing agent in the prosthetic department at its outpatient clinic at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Around the same time, doctors diagnosed him with PTSD tied to his service in Iraq. Years later he turned the government card into a way to make money on the side, and in August 2021 he pleaded guilty in federal court.
The day the draft arrived
Early in his case, Kevin had started watching Michael Santos on YouTube. “Michael gave me a strong sense of direction,” he said. “He taught me that preparation is paramount.” When the draft PSR showed up, he stopped watching and called us. Our team worked with him on a personal narrative and helped his mother and in-laws write character letters, and Kevin said that work took the stress off his family; everyone in it had good things to say about the people who helped them. Outside our team, he leaned on a lawyer, a trauma specialist, and his pastor.
“They were remarkable”
At sentencing, Kevin remembers the judge stopping on the letters. “Very rarely have I seen the quality of letters I received on your behalf,” the judge said. “They were remarkable.” He added that the narrative gave him a better understanding of Kevin’s story, then imposed 27 months, about half of what Kevin had walked in expecting.
Before the hearing, our team had given Kevin a recommendation for his prison designation, and he is now studying the CARES Act. When he comes home, he plans to go back to real estate and build that business the right way. “I went from fear and uncertainty to being informed and prepared,” he said. “Now I have a clear plan for when I get to prison and for when I get out.” Asked whether he would send another defendant to us, he answered: “A million percent! Yes I would recommend it!”
Kevin picked up the phone the day the draft arrived. When yours comes, read the personal history section the way a stranger would, and write down everything about your life it leaves out.
Thank you,
Justin Paperny
Questions about this case
Can military service and PTSD come up at federal sentencing? Under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a), the judge weighs a defendant’s history and characteristics, and service and a documented diagnosis are part of that history. Kevin’s record included Eielson, Langley, Tallil, and the PTSD diagnosis that followed. None of it excused buying and reselling the equipment.
When should sentencing preparation start? Kevin started the day his draft PSR arrived. Starting before the presentence interview gives the probation officer more of your life to work with before the draft is written.
What is a prison designation recommendation? At sentencing, the judge can recommend a facility to the Bureau of Prisons. The BOP makes the final designation. Kevin went into his hearing with a recommendation already in mind.
Written by
Justin Paperny
Founder White Collar Advice