Dubious programs awarded VA funding include training veterans to grow grass ($2 million) and make fake rocks from concrete ($18 million).

Four years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged that it owed hundreds of millions of dollars to veterans in lost benefits, including refunds of up to $2,700 for their GI Bill contributions. Up to 115,000 veterans may have been eligible for the refund.

Now the pressing question is whether those who received a refund for their training actually gained anything by that training.

Around $300 million in GI Bill money was reportedly paid for essentially “worthless” job training by for-profit trade schools, according to a Washington Post investigation. The paper of record claimed that veterans were defrauded, and that at least one founder of a trade school used the money to buy expensive cars and spend nearly $200,000 at strip clubs.

The History of Veterans’ Benefits and the GI Bill

The origins of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act—better known as the “GI Bill”—date back to World War II. During World War I, returning veterans received practically no compensation for their years of torment in defense of the United States—only a $60 cash bonus (about $1,300 today), free transportation home, and thanks from a grateful nation. The rest was up to them.

Predictably, the influx of large numbers of unemployed men quickly saturated the job market, and many returning veterans struggled to find jobs. In 1924, Congress passed a law awarding veterans a more significant cash bonus of around $500 (around $9,500 today), with the caveat that it be vested until 1945. However, when the Great Depression hit, those who had served in the trenches in Europe called for an early payment of their promised bonuses, resulting in the famed 1932 “Bonus Army” protests in Washington, DC.

A decade later, as World War II drew to a close, lawmakers in Washington understood the massive problem that the unemployment of many millions of veterans would cause once they returned to civilian life in the United States. In order to soften the blow to employment, Congress passed the GI Bill—meant to help qualifying individuals and their families pay for college, graduate school, and vocational training. The benefits were meant to cover tuition, housing, and books.

Since its creation, more than 25 million veterans have used the GI Bill. Today, there are dozens of VA-approved programs drawing from the GI Bill; in 2025, more than $11 billion was spent to educate around 666,000 military veterans via the bill.

The problem is that there are many scammers looking to take advantage of the veterans and the American taxpayers.

A Classic GI Bill Scam: High Tuition Fees for Short-Term Programs

Although there are countless legitimate trade schools and vocational programs, others are little more than fly-by-night operations that prey on veterans, leaving them without the skills or training they were promised.

One issue is that these programs are touted as a shortcut to a new career. A since-shuttered program in New Hampshire trained veterans to grow grass, making more than $2 million in the process, according to The Washington Post. Another received $18 million to teach students how to design fake rocks from concrete.

Among the worst of these programs was a six-week “boot camp” that taught returning veterans heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) repair, but the program was little more than a scam. One former student told The Washington Post that he was poorly trained and had since lost three jobs. Tuition for the six-week program was about $20,000 per veteran, with the VA paying $72 million in total.

“I feel bamboozled,” US Marine Corps veteran Ryan DiFranco testified at the trial against Jonathan Dean Davis, the owner of the HVAC repair program, who used the VA’s money to buy himself a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and a Bentley. “It’s a nightmare that lives in the back of my mind all the time.”

There Are No Shortcuts to Employment—Unless You’re a Scammer

The VA limits annual tuition payments to $30,908, which has limited some options for veterans as the cost of higher education has skyrocketed in recent years. That has led many veterans to turn to lower-cost alternatives, and there are no minimum course-length requirements.

Veterans can be duped into thinking that a six-week program is adequate for training in a new career, especially because there are no minimum standards on the quality of schools. The GI Bill doesn’t even require that trade schools obtain federal accreditation—leaving the process to state officials, many of whom don’t have the necessary resources in place to sort out real training programs from scams.

In one case, at least, there has been a modicum of justice; Davis has since been charged with wire fraud and money laundering, and is serving a reduced prison sentence of 10 years. But this does little to help veterans like DiFranco, who spent years serving the country around the world only to struggle to find a place at home.

How Veterans Can Avoid Employment Scams

The VA recommends that veterans verify that any school or training program they are considering is approved using the GI Bill Comparison Tool, and to watch out for high-pressure sales tactics, such as requiring them to sign up before talking to an official VA counselor or have time to research the institution.

Scammers often offer “veteran-only” jobs that require applicants to pay upfront for equipment, training, or certification fees. Veterans should do their due diligence by checking for online complaints, the history of the program, and the trade school offering it. 

As is often the advice: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

The post Outrage After Veterans Scammed by Worthless Job Training appeared first on The National Interest.