Man pleads guilty to scamming Veterans Affairs Department

CHARLESTON (AP) Federal prosecutors say a South Carolina man who never served in the military swindled nearly $200,000 in health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Justice Department said in a news release that 70-year-old Keith Hudson of Charleston had claimed he fought in Vietnam and received two Purple Heart medals.

Hudson pleaded guilty to health care fraud in U.S. District Court in Charleston this week. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced later.

Prosecutors said Hudson was suspected of carrying out a similar scheme in Connecticut where he received medical care at VA facilities from 2003 until authorities caught on about two years later. He was placed in a pretrial diversion program then.

Prosecutors said Hudson applied to the VA in Charleston in 2015.