This Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) advisory highlights common fraud schemes targeting veterans and offers best practices to prevent service members from being a victim of these scams. We also cite useful guidance issued by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and our colleagues in the OIG and law enforcement community with significant expertise in combatting veterans-related fraud. By being aware of common fraud schemes targeting veterans, legal aid professionals may be able to better serve their clients when a common scheme or practice is…

We all share a commitment to preventing waste in the use of Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funds. Waste occurs when an organization expends resources carelessly, extravagantly, or without adequate purpose. Waste can be different from fraud in that waste does not necessarily involve violations of law. While the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and other external auditors serve as independent checks on LSC-funded programming, the LSC Board, LSC Management, and grantees’ managers and boards of directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that effective policies, procedures, and controls…

Positive Pay is an automated cash-management service used by banks to prevent check fraud. Positive Pay allows banks to match issued checks with checks presented for payment. Checks identified by the bank as potentially fraudulent are sent back to the issuer for review.