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Marquette County veteran service officer reports casework, outreach and warns of VA‑letterhead scam
Summary
Veteran service officer Brandon told the board his office closed 17 cases, has 93 open, and is assisting outreach including a scholarship program; he noted a COLA on veterans' benefits, VA transparency on attorney fees and warned of a new scam using VA letterhead.
Brandon, Marquette County's veteran service officer, told the human services meeting that his office closed 17 cases since the last report and continues to work on 93 active cases, with 11 currently at the Board of Veterans' Appeals. He said the office helped two homeless veterans last month and reported two veteran deaths since the previous update.
Brandon said outreach includes assistance with a scholarship for West Field High School through the local American Legion post and planned presentations to American Legion and VFW posts across the county. "I'm still preparing for informal presentations to all legion and VFW posts in the county," he said, and said attendees should expect emails to department heads about youth and government day.
On benefits, Brandon said a cost‑of‑living (COLA) increase for veterans' benefits will start to show in the current pay period. He also described increased VA transparency: "The VA is now becoming more transparent where they are going to start showing us the fees and the money monetary earnings that are being given to attorneys in these private veterans claims organizations," and called that change a positive step because, he said, some organizations charge high fees while doing little work for veterans.
Brandon warned the board about a new scam targeting veterans: callers or mailings that appear on official VA letterhead may in fact be fraudulent. "They are scammers using that to reach our veterans," he said, and described one instance where a document looked authentic but contained data irregularities his office was able to stop. He also flagged possible upcoming changes to how survivor benefits are allocated and said local jurisdictions may become more involved in determining entitlement when a veteran passes away.
The veteran service officer report concluded with reminders of upcoming community events, including an American Legion spaghetti dinner on Feb. 28, and a brief staffing update that his new part‑time assistant, Brian Gingrich, recently started and is being accredited.
The board did not take any formal vote on veteran services during the meeting; the report was received for information.
