2026-02-13T10:00:46.862Z / CNN
一名现居美国中西部的陆军战斗退伍军人在服役结束时身受多处伤痛。在21世纪初部署到阿富汗期间，他的车辆触发简易爆炸装置（IED），导致他遭受创伤性脑损伤。
但当这位退伍军人（CNN将其称为亚当）向退伍军人事务部（VA）提交残疾赔偿金申请时，他感觉自己在两个方面都被辜负了。
首先，他表示，VA的申请流程令人困惑，该部门花了四个月才回复他——告知他不符合任何福利条件。然后他寻求一家公司的帮助，该公司承诺通过收费指导他完成整个流程，但最终他仍然没有获得任何福利，反而欠下了数千美元的账单。
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“他们基本上没为我做什么实质性的事情，”亚当在提到这家外部公司时说道。他要求使用化名以保护自己的隐私。
亚当的故事几十年来一直在退伍军人中上演。
退伍军人本应能够通过直接向VA提交申请来获得这些补助，并能从非盈利且与政府相关的退伍军人服务组织（VSO）那里获得免费填写文书工作的帮助。这些VSO经政府认证，旨在协助退伍军人。
然而，由于文书工作繁琐且VSO往往因工作量过大而无法及时提供帮助，许多退伍军人转而求助于收取费用的私营公司。
批评者称这些顾问为“索赔鲨鱼”——即盈利性咨询公司，声称能帮助退伍军人获得更高的赔偿金，同时从中抽取提成。这些咨询公司未经VA认证，而VA的认证流程包括进行评估和背景审查，目的是确保该行业受到一定程度的监督。
与此同时，一些盈利性咨询公司被指控使用不诚实的手段获取更高费用，无论是直接向退伍军人多收费，还是向VA歪曲其客户情况以从更高的赔偿金中获得更大比例的提成。
这些盈利性咨询公司则辩称，他们帮助退伍军人获得更多福利——部分退伍军人对此表示认同——而且大多数退伍军人来找他们是因为他们认为自己从VA那里没有得到应得的赔偿金。这些公司声称，他们并非为退伍军人填写文书，而仅仅是帮助他们在复杂的系统中导航，因此不违反联邦规定。
退伍军人权益顾问公司Veterans Guardian的联合创始人比尔·泰勒（Bill Taylor）认为，应该允许像他这样的公司在法律框架内运营，这也将为该行业带来更多监管，并减少他所说的一些“不良参与者”的“掠夺性行为”。
“我们不仅希望保护退伍军人的选择权，同时也能提供相应的保护，”泰勒说。
一些州已经开始寻求对该行业进行监管。去年，路易斯安那州成为首个通过法律监管未获认证索赔顾问的州，该法律限制了他们的收费，并要求他们进行某些信息披露。该法案是借鉴了一项在国会停滞不前的法案。
一些盈利性咨询公司对这些州法律表示欢迎，但VSO却并非如此。
但上周，联邦法院裁定路易斯安那州的法律违宪，予以废除。起诉该州法律的退伍军人组织的律师兼主任约翰·威尔斯（John Wells）表示，各州不应干预联邦福利的监管。
“如果其他州试图制定类似法律，我们将采取行动，”威尔斯说。
VA发言人彼得·卡斯帕罗维茨（Peter Kasperowicz）告诉CNN：“VA正在继续审视这一问题，同时，我们正努力让退伍军人更容易获得他们应得的VA福利和服务。”
“当VA发现欺诈或可疑行为时，它会与适当的执法机构合作，以保护退伍军人、家属、护理人员和幸存者，”他说。“但我们也希望确保退伍军人有选择的权利，特别是如果他们对现有的免费选择不满意的话。”
他补充说，VA已采取措施简化退伍军人的索赔流程，包括通过更快、更直接的沟通方式和更快捷的医疗记录检索方式。
自2006年国会取消对帮助退伍军人处理VA索赔收费的刑事处罚以来，索赔顾问的数量激增。当时国会这样做是为了让退伍军人在面对有时复杂的流程时能获得帮助。
二十年后，退伍军人和立法者在这些公司究竟是在填补未满足的需求，提供合法服务，还是利用弱势群体退伍军人这一问题上存在分歧。
数十亿美元的利益岌岌可危，2024财年约有670万退伍军人从VA获得福利。
根据迈克尔·米萨尔（Michael Missal）的说法，通过政府申请退伍军人福利“可能是一个复杂的过程，具体取决于你提出的索赔类型”。米萨尔曾在2016年至2025年1月期间担任VA监察长。
尽管他并不支持这些盈利性公司，但他表示：“我知道退伍军人会对VA复杂的福利申请流程感到沮丧。而一些未获认证的代理人会说，‘我们可以简化繁琐的手续，让事情进展得更快。’”
但反对者称，由此催生的这个行业问题重重。
上个月，退伍军人倡导组织美国瘫痪退伍军人协会的杰里米·维拉纽瓦（Jeremy Villanueva）在国会听证会上作证时表示：“当一家公司的商业模式建立在退伍军人获得更高残疾索赔的基础上时，这只会导致不法行为。”
据米萨尔称，由于这些公司的性质未受监管，很难准确估计目前在美国有多少这样的公司在运营，但最大的几家公司在多个州开展业务，处理数百万美元的索赔。
过去，VA曾质疑过一些私人索赔公司的工作。前几任VA行政官员曾向一些索赔顾问发出停止和终止函，警告他们与退伍军人合作填写索赔表格并收费可能违反联邦法律。
但米萨尔表示，这些函件往往效果不佳，VA也没有跟进，这限制了其作用。
VSO通过证明自己确实在提供这些服务来维持其认证和与VA的关系，因此他们反对盈利性咨询公司。
“我们认为这些公司四处收取退伍军人的钱是完全不道德的，他们根本无权这样做，”退伍军人服务组织国家协会（VSO National Association of County Veterans Service Officers）主席安德鲁·坦根（Andrew Tangen）说。
一桩悬而未决的吹哨人诉讼指控美国最大的索赔咨询公司之一Veterans Guardian操纵医疗评估，指导退伍军人以特定方式呈现症状，并引导申请者获得可能带来更高补偿的诊断——Veterans Guardian否认了这些指控。
Veterans Guardian在给CNN的声明中表示：“该投诉是由一名因行为不当被解雇的前员工提出的，此后该员工被指控骚扰和网络跟踪其他Veterans Guardian员工。我们将继续为自己辩护，驳斥这些不实指控。”
12月，一名法官裁定，在Veterans Guardian试图驳回一起诉讼后，该公司面临的另一桩由退伍军人提起的诉讼（称其收取非法费用）可以继续进行。
该公司在一份声明中表示：“我们坚决否认这些指控，并将坚决捍卫我们的公司，反对这些毫无根据的索赔，同时继续为我们的退伍军人客户开展重要工作。”
作为一名退伍军人，泰勒表示，他自己在VSO的经历促使他在2017年创立了自己的公司。当他退伍时，在北卡罗来纳州的布拉格堡基地（美国最大的基地之一）很难找到能免费提供帮助的人。
“当时只有一个VSO可用，”泰勒说。“想预约简直是碰运气。”
泰勒称，Veterans Guardian经常雇佣其他退伍军人和军人配偶——这些人能与其他退伍军人感同身受。他说，他在流程的每一步都使用“专家”，包括那些能与退伍军人讨论创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的专家，或提供如何回应VA来函的建议的专家。他还表示，公司开发了一个AI系统来简化某些步骤，以更快地为退伍军人提供结果。
泰勒说，总部位于北卡罗来纳州的Veterans Guardian去年帮助了4.5万名退伍军人，并声称其帮助退伍军人获得更多福利的“成功率”接近90%。他补充说，超过70%的Veterans Guardian客户在尝试免费替代方案后才来找他们。
“那么问题是，我们为什么做得这么好？”泰勒说。“为什么人们会推荐其他人来找我们？为什么这么多退伍军人在使用过免费服务后还会来找我们？”
盈利性咨询公司通常宣传他们能帮助退伍军人获得更高的“残疾评级”——即VA根据退伍军人的伤病综合严重程度给出的0至100%的评级。评级越高，赔偿金越多。
来自密歇根州的海军退伍军人塞缪尔·谢德（Samuel Shade）告诉CNN，他多年来一直试图提高自己的VA残疾评级，并为心脏问题申请更好的福利。谢德说，他首先尝试自己与VA合作，然后寻求当地VSO的帮助。
“他们毫无进展，”谢德说。
他说，VSO会从他那里收集信息，并每3-4个月检查一次他的索赔，但VA至少需要6个月才能回复。
“你根本打不通底特律的VA电话，”谢德说，他补充说，VA花了大约一年时间才承认他提出了提高福利的请求。
在尝试了8年的VSO和VA后，他最终在2023年求助于一家私人公司。“他们直接告诉你，‘如果我们没拿到任何东西，你就不用付钱’，而且他们收费也不高，”他描述这家咨询公司“是一家很值得信赖的公司”。
他说，通过这家公司，他成功提高了福利评级。
亚当的经历与谢德几乎完全相反。在经历了与这家盈利性公司的糟糕合作后，亚当表示，他去找了当地的VSO。在VSO的帮助下，他正确提交了索赔申请，并在6个月内获得了福利——全程免费。
路易斯安那州及其他地区
除路易斯安那州外，阿拉巴马州、佛罗里达州、俄克拉荷马州、田纳西州和南达科他州也通过了监管这些公司的立法，而缅因州、新泽西州和纽约州等其他州则通过了禁止未获认证公司的法律。
上周，路易斯安那州的法律在联邦地区法院被判定违宪后被废除——这一决定得到了美国退伍军人协会（VFW）的支持，但路易斯安那州总检察长打算对此提起上诉。
本周，加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）签署了一项法案，该法案将授权州总检察长起诉向退伍军人收取过高费用的未获认证顾问。
Veterans Guardian的联合创始人泰勒表示，监管可以解决VSO对咨询公司的主要批评。
“有人抱怨说退伍军人不知道自己的选择，所以我们需要以书面形式通知退伍军人，”泰勒说。“我的意思是，有些法案甚至规定必须使用特定字体。”
根据非营利组织OpenSecrets汇编的数据，2025年，Veterans Guardian在游说方面花费了超过260万美元，包括支持允许该行业运营的州立法。泰勒表示，他预计最终会有另外20个州颁布类似的立法，而他的组织正为此进行游说。
泰勒说，每个联系Veterans Guardian的退伍军人都会被告知，他们可以通过VA和VSO获得免费服务，而且很多人首先会选择免费途径。
“我们祝愿他们一切顺利，希望他们永远不需要再来找我们，”他继续说道。“坦率地说，我们只是刚刚触及到外面对援助的巨大需求。”
Do these companies help veterans— or are they cheating them?
2026-02-13T10:00:46.862Z / CNN
An Army combat veteran now living in the Midwest was dealing with multiple injuries by the time he finished his military service. He’d suffered a traumatic brain injury after his vehicle struck an IED during his deployment to Afghanistan in the late 2000s.
But when the veteran, who CNN is identifying as Adam, filed his disability compensation claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs, he felt he was failed on two fronts.
First, the VA process was confusing, he said, and it took the department four months to get back to him – to say he didn’t qualify for any benefits. Then he sought help from a company that promised to guide him through the process for a fee, only to still end up with no benefits and a bill for thousands of dollars.
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“They pretty much did jack sh*t for me,” said Adam, referring to the outside company. He asked to be identified by a pseudonym to protect his privacy.
Adam’s story is one that has played out with veterans for decades.
Veterans are supposed to be able to get these payments by filing for their benefits directly through the VA, and to get help filling out the paperwork for free from non-profit and government-affiliated groups called veterans service organizations (VSOs), which are accredited by the government to aid them.
Instead, frustrated by cumbersome paperwork and VSOs that are often too inundated with work for timely help, many veterans instead turn to private companies that charge a fee.
Critics call these consultants “claims sharks” – for-profit consultancies that say they help veterans get higher compensation while also taking a cut for themselves. These consultancies operate without accreditation from the VA, a process that includes taking assessments and passing a background check, which is meant to ensure a level of oversight into the process.
At the same time, some for-profit consultancies have been accused of using dishonest tactics to obtain higher fees, whether by overcharging veterans directly, or misrepresenting their clients to the VA to get a bigger cut from higher compensations that are paid out.
The for-profit consultants contend they help veterans get more benefits – which some veterans agree with – and that most veterans come to them because they didn’t get the compensation they believe they were owed from the VA. These companies contend that they are not preparing paperwork for veterans, but simply helping them navigate a complex system, and therefore are not in breach of federal requirements.
Bill Taylor, the co-founder of claims consultant Veterans Guardian, argues that companies like his should be allowed to operate within a legal framework, which would also bring more regulation to the industry and cut down on what he described as “predatory practices” from some “bad actors.”
“Not only do we want to protect a veteran’s right to choose, but we can do that while also providing protections,” Taylor said.
Some states have sought to regulate the industry. Last year, Louisiana became the first state to pass a law to regulate unaccredited claims consultants by capping their fees and requiring certain disclosures from them. The bill was modeled after a version that stalled in Congress.
Some for profit consultancies have welcomed these state laws, but VSOs have not.
But last week, a federal court struck down the Louisiana law as unconstitutional. John Wells, a lawyer and director of a veterans’ group that sued the state over the law, argued states shouldn’t be allowed to interfere in the regulation of federal benefits.
“If other states try to institute laws like this, we will take action,” Wells said.
For its part, the “VA continues to examine this issue, and in the meantime, we are working to make it easier for Veterans to access the VA benefits and services they have earned,” spokesman Peter Kasperowicz told CNN.
“When VA sees signs of fraud or suspicious behavior, it works with the appropriate law enforcement authorities to protect Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” he said. “But we also want to make sure Veterans have choices, particularly if they aren’t happy with whatever options might be available to them for free.”
He added that the VA has put in efforts to make access to claims easier for veterans, including through faster, more direct communications and quicker ways to retrieve their medical records.
The number of claims consultants has skyrocketed since 2006 when Congress removed criminal penalties against those charging fees to assist veterans with VA claims in an effort to get veterans help in navigating the sometimes-byzantine process.
Two decades later, veterans and lawmakers alike are divided over whether these companies provide a legitimate service to fill an unmet need – or take advantage of vulnerable veterans.
Billions of dollars are at stake, with some 6.7 million veterans receiving benefits from the VA in the 2024 fiscal year.
Claiming veterans benefits through the government “can be a complicated process, depending on the type of claim you’re making,” according to Michael Missal, who served as VA inspector general from 2016 until January 2025.
While he does not endorse the for-profit firms, “I was familiar with veterans getting frustrated with the complicated process at VA to get benefits,” he said. “And what some unaccredited agents would do is say, ‘We can cut through the red tape. We can make this go quicker.’”
But the industry that has sprung up to do this is rife with problems, opponents say.
“When you have a business whose business model is predicated on a veteran getting a higher disability claim, that just leads to nefarious things,” said Jeremy Villanueva of the veteran’s advocacy group Paralyzed Veterans of America when testifying at a congressional roundtable last month.
It’s hard to even estimate how many such companies currently operate in the US, according to Missal, because of their unregulated nature, but the largest ones operate in multiple states, bringing millions of dollars in claims.
In the past, the VA has questioned the work of some private claims companies. Previous VA administrations have sent cease-and-desist letters to some claims consultants, warning that they were likely breaching federal laws for working with veterans to fill out claims forms and charging them fees.
But these letters were often ineffective and not followed up upon by the VA, limiting their effect, according to Missal.
VSOs, which maintain their accreditations and relationships with the VA in part by showing that they are providing these services, object to the for-profit consultancy companies.
“We find it morally reprehensible that these companies are going around and taking money from veterans that they have no right to take money from,” said Andrew Tangen, president of the VSO National Association of County Veterans Service Officers.
A pending whistleblower lawsuit has accused Veterans Guardian, one of the largest claims consultancies in the country, of manipulating medical assessments, coaching veterans to present symptoms in specific ways, and steering applicants toward diagnoses that could yield higher benefits compensation – allegations Veterans Guardian has denied.
In a statement to CNN, Veterans Guardian said the “complaint was filed by a former employee who was terminated for toxic behavior and has since been accused of harassment and cyberstalking other Veterans Guardian employees. We will continue to defend ourselves against these inaccurate claims.”
In December, a judge ruled that a separate lawsuit against the company brought by veterans who said they were charged illegal fees could move forward after Veterans Guardian tried to have the case dismissed.
“We categorically deny the allegations and will vigorously defend our company against these meritless claims while continuing our important work for our veteran clients,” the company said in a statement.
A veteran himself, Taylor said his own experience with VSOs led him to establish his company in 2017. When he was getting out of the military, he had a hard time finding someone who could help him for free at Fort Bragg in North Carolina – one of the largest bases in the country.
“There was only one VSO available,” Taylor said. “Good luck getting an appointment.”
Taylor said Veterans Guardian often hires other veterans and military spouses – people who can relate to other veterans. He said that he uses “specialists at every step of the process,” including those who can meet with veterans about PTSD or those who can advise about responding to correspondence from the VA. He said the company has also developed an AI system to streamline some steps and get veterans faster results.
Taylor said that the North Carolina-based Veterans Guardian helped 45,000 veterans last year and claimed close to a 90% “success rate” in getting veterans more benefits. He added that more than 70% of Veterans Guardian clients came to the company after already trying free alternatives.
“So the question is, why are we doing so well?” Taylor said. “Why are people referring folks to us? And why are so many veterans coming to us after having utilized one of the free services?”
For-profit consulting companies often advertise that they can get veterans a higher “disability rating” – the VA’s rating system on a scale of 0 to 100 percent based on the combined severity of the veteran’s injuries and illnesses. The higher the rating, the more compensation.
Samuel Shade, a Navy veteran from Michigan, told CNN he tried for years to upgrade his VA disability rating and apply for better benefits for his heart problems. Shade said he first tried to work with the VA on his own, then solicited the help of a local VSO.
“They didn’t get anywhere,” Shade said.
The VSO would take information from him and would check on his claim every 3-4 months, he said. But then it would take the VA at least six months to respond.
“You couldn’t get the VA in Detroit to even answer” when you called, Shade said, adding that it took about a year for the VA to even acknowledge that he’d requested an increase in his benefits.
After eight years of trying to use the VSO and VA, he finally went to a private company for help in 2023. “They tell you straight out, ‘If we don’t get anything, you’re not paying’, and they don’t over-charge either,” he said, describing the consultancy as “a very good company to deal with.”
Through them, Shade was able to improve his benefits rating, he said.
Adam’s experience turned out to be almost completely opposite from Shade’s. After his poor experience with the for-profit company he had dealt with, Adam says, he went to a local VSO. With the VSO’s help, he says, he correctly submitted his claims and received his benefits within six months – all at no charge.
Louisiana and beyond
In addition to Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and South Dakota have passed legislation to regulate these companies, while other states, such as Maine, New Jersey and New York, have passed laws banning unaccredited companies.
Last week, Louisiana’s law was struck down after a district court judge found that it interfered with the purview of the federal law – a decision applauded by the VFW, but which the Louisiana attorney general intends to appeal.
And this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that would empower the state attorney general to prosecute unaccredited consultants who charge veterans excessive fees for claims assistance.
Taylor, the co-founder of Veterans Guardian, said regulation could address the main criticisms the VSOs have had about consulting firms.
“There were complaints that veterans don’t know their options, so require us to notify the veteran in writing,” Taylor said. “I mean, shoot, some of the bills even dictate it has to be done in a certain type of font.”
In 2025, Veterans Guardian spent more than $2.6 million on lobbying, including for state legislation to allow the industry to operate, according to data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets. Taylor said he expects up to 20 more states to eventually enact legislation his group has lobbied in support of.
Taylor said that every veteran who contacts Veterans Guardian is told that there are free services available to them through the VA and VSOs, and many go that route first.
“And we wish them well, and we hope we never see them again,” he continued. “Because frankly, we’re barely scratching the surface of the demand for assistance out there.”