Number	20856
Subject	Lawyers
Source	Newsday (New York)
State	NY
Year	2003
Publication Date	October 19, October 28
Summary	For years, federal officials knew that Karen Fotiou, a woman pretending to be a lawyer, was targeting disabled veterans. She was illegally charging them for filing claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Records show she illegally collected nearly $200,000 from veterans who had little or no income and who suffered from emotional and physical problems. Even though federal officials had evidence she was breaking the law, they never charged her, never warned veterans about her and even helped her continue operating. She was able to operate freely because filing claims with the VA is slow, and an often unfair process; and veterans, under the law cannot pay a lawyer to help them. When mistakes happen in the VA system, no-one is held accountable.
Category	Contest Entry
Pages	10
Keywords	disabled veterans;Department of Veterans Affairs;Veterans Affairs Medical Center-Northport;VA Hospital;U.S. Inspector Genera report;state corporate records;court appeals;New York Bar Association;VA investigators;Disabled American Veterans;National Organization of Veterans Advocates;post-traumatic stress;filing claims
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