Vet gets prison for faking paralysis to avoid Iraq

[April 24, 2010]  EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) -- A federal judge has sentenced an Army veteran to 6 1/2 years in prison for bilking the U.S. government by faking paralysis to get disability benefits and avoid being deployed to Iraq.

U.S. District Judge William Stiehl (steel) also ordered Jeffrey Rush to repay more than $300,000.

During his sentencing Friday in East St. Louis, Ill., Rush apologized and asked for leniency for his ex-wife, who also pleaded guilty in the scheme and will be sentenced Monday.

Jeffrey and Amy Rush were accused of fraud and lying to federal agencies. Authorities say the couple stuck to his bogus story that he had lost the use of his legs after a 2004 rollover crash, just weeks before his Army company shipped off to Iraq without him.

[Associated Press]

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