New Jersey Man Sentenced For Wire Fraud

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Alexander Kudla (“Kudla”) was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard G. Andrews to a three-year term of probation after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud for his theft of over $22,000 from a disabled veteran.

Accordingly to publicly filed documents and statements made in court, Kudla, age 40, of Millville, New Jersey, was previously a licensed practical nurse at the Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center (“VAMC”). A VAMC patient requested help withdrawing funds from an ATM due to the patient’s physical limitations. Kudla abused his position at the VAMC as well as the trust of the victim by withdrawing funds from the victim’s bank account for Kudla’s personal use on over 40 occasions between February 2015 and July 2015. As part of his sentence, the District Court ordered Kudla to pay full restitution of $22,320 to the victim, with $4,000 due immediately.

Kudla is no longer employed with the VAMC or with the Department of Veterans Affairs. “We take allegations of employee misconduct very seriously, especially when those allegations are related to the welfare of our Veterans. We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case and we will continue to be vigilant, ensuring Veterans receive care and treatment in a safe and caring environment,” said Vince Kane, director of the Wilmington VA Medical Center.

“It is particularly painful when an employee entrusted by VA to care for veterans abuses that trust for personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Donna L. Neves, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. “It's why VA OIG pursues cases like this, so veterans can feel safe in all aspects of their care.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “I want to thank the Veterans Affairs Police Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General for their efforts throughout the investigation and prosecution of this case. The act of secretly withdrawing his patient’s funds for Defendant’s own personal use is completely at odds with the important position with which he was entrusted. Such crimes will be investigated by our partner agencies and prosecuted by our office.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the Veterans Affairs Police Service. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Whitney Cloud.