A North Little Rock man accused of defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $22,000 in disability benefits he was not entitled to was found guilty Tuesday afternoon on two federal counts after 90 minutes of jury deliberation.
Darold Maxfield Sr., 56, a VA service representative, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2021 on charges of theft of public money and making false statements to an agency of the United States.
Maxfield was accused, at the time of the indictment, of collecting about three years worth of enhanced benefits for a 100% service connected disability rating he received, according to government prosecutors, by submitting a false disability benefits questionnaire (DBQ) that inflated the severity of a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed mood by detailing symptoms Maxfield was not exhibiting.
During testimony Monday it was learned that Maxfield has continued to collect the enhanced benefits since his indictment, with the latest payment deposited into his account July 1, according to testimony by another VA official, Jillian Dale. Maxfield is also still employed in his $113,000 a year position with the VA, although he said on the witness stand Tuesday that he is currently on leave from the agency.
On Tuesday, several of Maxfield’s co-workers were called to testify as rebuttal witnesses following his testimony, with each testifying that he had a reputation for dishonesty among his superiors and subordinates.
While on the stand Tuesday morning, Maxfield testified that the document he is accused of falsifying was actually prepared by a co-worker, whom he identified as Crystal Spruill. By the time court resumed after lunch, prosecutors had located Spruill and transported her to the federal courthouse, where she refuted Maxfield’s assertion that she had typed the document in question for him.
When he returns for sentencing, Maxfield faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the theft of public money count and five years on the false statement count.
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