Stolen valor case involving VA benefits fraud lands former inmate back in prison

A Florida man who never served in the military was sentenced to four years in prison for falsely claiming to be a decorated combat-wounded veteran to obtain Veterans Affairs benefits, prosecutors said this week. 

Michael Duane Dyson, 46, received his sentence Friday in federal court in Tallahassee after pleading guilty in February to one count of theft of government funds.

He misrepresented himself as a Purple Heart recipient when seeking VA benefits in early 2022, authorities said.

He was certified to receive benefits and was treated at a Tallahassee VA medical facility and third-party contract providers over a three-year period, according to court records.

Dyson received over $114,000 in VA-funded medical treatment, the Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday.

During part of the time Dyson claimed to have served in the Army, he was doing time in a Massachusetts prison for a sex offense, U.S. Attorney John Heekin said in the statement.

Dyson had previously sought VA benefits in Boston in 2013, but he was denied for lack of proof of service.

In May 2025, he submitted a fraudulent copy of a discharge record, known as a DD-214, that said he had been awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, according to court records. That’s how his history of fraudulent claims was discovered.

A Purple Heart is awarded to service members wounded or killed in combat with an enemy. When awarded for valor, the Bronze Star is the fourth-highest military award for combat bravery, though it can also be awarded for other deeds.

Dyson also signed a request for military records claiming to have served in the Army at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Bragg, N.C., from 1998 through 2013.

But the Army notified the nonprofit homeless services provider that there was no record of Dyson’s service and no DD-214 on file. The VA Office of Inspector General then began investigating the matter.

Dyson’s former co-workers, some of whom were veterans, said he had repeatedly claimed to be an Army veteran. In addition, he said he’d been wounded while serving in Special Forces as a sniper in Afghanistan before retiring as a master sergeant after 20 years of service in 2013, according to investigators.

“His employer then fired him in May 2025 when his deception was discovered,” a court document states.

As part of the plea agreement, he was ordered to pay some $28,000 in restitution for the fraudulent payments that the VA issued to outside providers.

“Acts of stolen valor by fraudsters, like this defendant, are despicable,” Heekin said, adding that Dyson had “claimed military service to gain benefits reserved for our nation’s warriors.”