Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/LinkedIn
A Marine Corps veteran who falsely claimed to have been the sole survivor of an enemy IED blast in Iraq—going so far as to submit a bogus application for a Purple Heart—is now facing federal charges for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars related to life-altering injuries the feds say never happened.
Paul John “P.J.” Herbert, 52, was arrested Friday morning by federal agents in Western Massachusetts. He served in the Marines on active duty from 1989 to 1993, and in the reserves from 1993 to 1995. But beginning some 15 years after separating from the service, and continuing through March 2023, Herbert “did, on a recurring basis, knowingly and willfully embezzle, steal, purloin and convert to his use… disability benefits [worth] approximately $344,040,” according to a grand jury indictment unsealed Sept. 1.
In a Purple Heart application submitted through his local congressman on Oct. 18, 2018, Herbert claimed he had suffered traumatic brain injury from a roadside explosion while deployed to Northern Iraq, the indictment states, adding, “In truth and fact, as the defendant well knew, his statement was false.”