1 00:00:00,010 --> 00:00:06,830 In this episode of American Greed, Captain Daryl Wright has a purple heart 2 00:00:06,830 --> 00:00:08,530 isn't afraid to show it. 3 00:00:09,650 --> 00:00:15,490 Daryl used his purple heart, flaunted it, and he weaponized it. 4 00:00:15,830 --> 00:00:22,130 As a wounded warrior, Wright collects more than $700 ,000 in government 5 00:00:22,130 --> 00:00:27,510 until an undercover investigation unravels this hero's story. 6 00:00:28,900 --> 00:00:32,280 99 .9 % of that stuff is not true. That did not happen. 7 00:00:32,940 --> 00:00:35,720 I think he enjoyed getting free money. 8 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,860 We started to refer to this as the Purple Heart fraudster case. 9 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,280 Wright's victims are veterans who feel their sacrifices have been tarnished by 10 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:47,280 his lies. 11 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,100 Their valor has been stolen. 12 00:00:50,820 --> 00:00:54,140 It's like a stab in the heart and then twisting it deeper. That's how it feels. 13 00:01:11,450 --> 00:01:18,270 In 2005, the Iraq War is grinding on with no end in 14 00:01:18,270 --> 00:01:19,270 sight. 15 00:01:20,430 --> 00:01:25,670 Daryl Wright, then a lieutenant with the Idaho National Guard, is just one of 16 00:01:25,670 --> 00:01:28,510 140 ,000 American troops serving here. 17 00:01:29,010 --> 00:01:30,810 But he stands out. 18 00:01:32,070 --> 00:01:36,010 First thing you notice when you meet Daryl Wright is how incredibly tall he 19 00:01:36,380 --> 00:01:39,860 I mean, this guy's, I don't know how tall he is, but he's the tallest guy 20 00:01:39,860 --> 00:01:40,860 ever met in the Army. 21 00:01:42,100 --> 00:01:46,980 Wright's job is helping turn local Iraqis into a lean, mean fighting force. 22 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,680 Basic tasks, how to shoot a weapon, how to play grenades, how to do whatever. 23 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,820 I just started to teach them like a mini boot camp. 24 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,520 Brad Awney, Wright's first sergeant, works closely with him. 25 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:05,760 We got along great. You know, he was good with the troops. He was good with 26 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:06,880 staff. He was good with me. 27 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,500 You know, we used to give each other a hard time because he's a Seahawk fan and 28 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:11,500 I'm a Viking fan. 29 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:15,900 You know, that type of thing. And, you know, other than that, I mean, yeah, he 30 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:18,160 seemed like a fine officer at that point. 31 00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:23,540 He was an intern with us, and as the internship was ending, he got deployed. 32 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,540 Kathleen Simcoe is Wright's former boss back in Boise, Idaho. 33 00:02:31,150 --> 00:02:35,890 She and her co -workers are sorry to see the National Guardsman go, but they 34 00:02:35,890 --> 00:02:39,590 know it's his duty, and they let Wright know he's in their thoughts. 35 00:02:41,610 --> 00:02:46,710 Several times the group would chip in together and donate things for a care 36 00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:49,750 package, and we sent him things like Twizzlers, and we sent him, I think, a 37 00:02:49,750 --> 00:02:54,050 whole series of cheers, and he really appreciated it and shared things with 38 00:02:54,050 --> 00:02:56,830 unit, and so I did. I kept in touch with him. 39 00:02:58,549 --> 00:03:04,610 80s television and junk food can help fill long stretches of boredom. But 40 00:03:04,610 --> 00:03:07,570 the lulls, there are flashes of danger. 41 00:03:10,270 --> 00:03:14,910 The spring and summer of 2005 is one of the war's deadliest periods. 42 00:03:15,770 --> 00:03:22,750 A time of runaway insurgents, roadside IEDs, and suicide bombings. 43 00:03:23,970 --> 00:03:26,250 Iraq is kind of like Russian roulette, you know. 44 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,480 It's not if it's when you're going to be hit kind of thing. So there's always 45 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,060 going to be something to worry about, you know, every day. 46 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:42,000 On August 30th, 2005, Darryl Wright is standing next to Sergeant Awney, 47 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:48,120 At 1 .30 in the afternoon, the calm is pierced by a dreadful sound. 48 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:50,280 We hear the... 49 00:03:50,670 --> 00:03:54,570 You know, the whistle whipped by us, and then there was a second one, you know, 50 00:03:54,570 --> 00:03:56,490 shortly after, so it was like simultaneous almost. 51 00:03:56,870 --> 00:03:58,830 And then, you know, boom, boom. 52 00:04:01,270 --> 00:04:03,670 It's a rocket attack hitting their base. 53 00:04:05,950 --> 00:04:11,070 Wright will later report that rubble and debris from the impact showered the sky 54 00:04:11,070 --> 00:04:14,190 and rained down on him and the other troops. 55 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,680 He writes that he was violently thrown and knocked unconscious from the 56 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:21,240 percussion of the rocket's impact. 57 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:26,520 Wright says the rocket's wreck is Humvee, seen here immediately after the 58 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:27,520 attack. 59 00:04:28,260 --> 00:04:30,260 But Wright is not hospitalized. 60 00:04:30,540 --> 00:04:34,520 As Awney sees it, Wright suffers no obvious injuries. 61 00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:40,640 And two months later, in October 2005, their unit returns home. 62 00:04:41,870 --> 00:04:46,450 When Daryl came back and came to work with us, Daryl was still Daryl. In fact, 63 00:04:46,450 --> 00:04:48,530 if anything, I think he was a little bit more outgoing. 64 00:04:50,150 --> 00:04:55,370 Kathleen Simcoe, who comes from a long line of military veterans, sees no 65 00:04:55,370 --> 00:04:58,510 apparent signs of post -traumatic stress in her friend. 66 00:04:59,150 --> 00:05:02,990 She says Wright does not seem anxious or high -strung. 67 00:05:04,490 --> 00:05:09,490 He fit into the team, was just wonderful. There was no performance 68 00:05:09,490 --> 00:05:10,690 whatsoever, no concerns. 69 00:05:11,270 --> 00:05:16,010 Nothing but positive accolades. I didn't see any change in him. 70 00:05:16,610 --> 00:05:21,290 I didn't see any injuries, anything at all. 71 00:05:23,530 --> 00:05:28,050 Darla McDaniel is Wright's former partner and the mother of his daughter. 72 00:05:29,030 --> 00:05:30,730 She has a similar take. 73 00:05:31,970 --> 00:05:37,450 After his time in Iraq, Wright seems, if anything, changed for the better. 74 00:05:38,030 --> 00:05:39,110 He was trying. 75 00:05:39,870 --> 00:05:44,830 He was doing what he could to be a part of our daughter's life and be a better 76 00:05:44,830 --> 00:05:48,810 dad than what he had been in the past. 77 00:05:50,670 --> 00:05:56,730 I mean, I always wanted our daughter to have a dad, obviously, to have that 78 00:05:56,730 --> 00:05:58,730 presence in her life. 79 00:05:59,550 --> 00:06:03,270 And it was nice that he was there for her. 80 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:08,730 By all appearances, Ride is thriving. 81 00:06:09,430 --> 00:06:14,190 So much so that he decides to take a job in his hometown of Seattle, which has 82 00:06:14,190 --> 00:06:18,850 more opportunities in his field of urban planning and economic development. 83 00:06:20,210 --> 00:06:22,170 I remember distinctly what I said. 84 00:06:22,510 --> 00:06:26,470 If I give Daryl a bad evaluation or reference, can I keep him? 85 00:06:26,710 --> 00:06:29,830 Because I didn't want to lose him. He was great. He was doing great work. He 86 00:06:29,830 --> 00:06:30,830 with our team. 87 00:06:30,930 --> 00:06:35,410 And I just didn't want to have to hire a replacement because he did such a good 88 00:06:35,410 --> 00:06:36,670 job and he was such a good fit. 89 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:43,700 Wright lands an $80 ,000 a year job, working for the Federal Department of 90 00:06:43,700 --> 00:06:46,160 Economic Development in its Seattle office. 91 00:06:47,380 --> 00:06:50,040 When I first met him, I thought he was personable. 92 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,520 He was easy to talk to. 93 00:06:52,740 --> 00:06:55,220 He was friendly. 94 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:01,780 C .J. Jackson works with Wright in the Economic Development Office, where she 95 00:07:01,780 --> 00:07:03,060 manages human resources. 96 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:09,320 Although she allows American Greed to use her real name, Jackson asks that we 97 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:10,440 obscure her face. 98 00:07:10,700 --> 00:07:14,040 She says she is afraid of retaliation from Wright. 99 00:07:15,580 --> 00:07:19,780 Jackson's experience working with Wright is very different than Kathleen 100 00:07:19,780 --> 00:07:20,780 Simcoe's. 101 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,740 She says Wright takes more time off than anyone else in the office. 102 00:07:28,340 --> 00:07:32,260 And over time, his absences only increase. 103 00:07:33,860 --> 00:07:35,260 At some point, 104 00:07:36,810 --> 00:07:42,290 I ran into him in the hallway and, I mean, I haven't seen him in a while. 105 00:07:42,890 --> 00:07:47,470 And so I said, oh, hey, stranger, how are you? I didn't know you still worked 106 00:07:47,470 --> 00:07:48,470 here. 107 00:07:49,050 --> 00:07:53,590 Jackson says Wright blames his absences from work on a variety of physical 108 00:07:53,590 --> 00:07:58,170 injuries and mental impairments stemming from his service in Iraq. 109 00:07:59,410 --> 00:08:05,210 He himself disclosed a lot of the things that he was suffering from. 110 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,060 to anybody who would listen. 111 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:14,600 Ultimately, he got to a point where he says that he can't work. 112 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:17,660 He can't even get up. He can't get out of bed. 113 00:08:18,260 --> 00:08:22,640 He's afraid of crowds, that he can't get on public transportation. 114 00:08:25,980 --> 00:08:30,000 Eventually, Darryl Wright takes so much paid time off from the federal 115 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,280 government that any additional time he takes off must be unpaid. 116 00:08:35,659 --> 00:08:40,780 But Wright concocts a clever way to get the time off and still collect a 117 00:08:40,780 --> 00:08:41,780 paycheck. 118 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:47,620 He submits paperwork saying his National Guard unit has called him up on an 119 00:08:47,620 --> 00:08:48,620 emergency order. 120 00:08:48,780 --> 00:08:50,880 He must answer the call of duty. 121 00:08:52,140 --> 00:08:56,580 But the emergency order doesn't look right to CJ Jackson. 122 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,260 I could tell well enough that... 123 00:08:59,820 --> 00:09:04,600 A military order that was dated six months prior to deployment could 124 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:05,660 considered emergency. 125 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:12,680 That was when things started being questionable to me. 126 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:19,260 Jackson drives down to Tacoma to visit Wright's National Guard unit at Camp 127 00:09:19,260 --> 00:09:23,700 Murray. She asks an officer about the order Wright has submitted. 128 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:28,120 He came out and he said, well, this is... 129 00:09:28,410 --> 00:09:32,550 Embarrassing because we don't have copies of these documents in our files. 130 00:09:33,910 --> 00:09:37,790 And with good reason. The order is bogus. 131 00:09:38,770 --> 00:09:44,810 He cut and pasted. Basically, that's what he did. Cut and pasted military 132 00:09:44,810 --> 00:09:45,810 orders. 133 00:09:48,030 --> 00:09:53,510 Up next, Daryl Wright applies for and receives one of the nation's highest 134 00:09:53,510 --> 00:09:54,990 honors for wounded warriors. 135 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:02,020 But C .J. Jackson learns what can happen when you blow the whistle on a purple 136 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:03,020 heart. 137 00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:08,080 And at first I didn't believe that, because I was saying, well, this guy 138 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:09,340 falsified documents. 139 00:10:09,700 --> 00:10:11,440 Why am I the one in trouble? 140 00:10:24,010 --> 00:10:30,030 In Seattle, Iraq veteran Delroy Wright has forged paperwork allowing him to 141 00:10:30,030 --> 00:10:31,750 work and still get paid. 142 00:10:33,210 --> 00:10:37,750 It's a brazen fraud, according to Assistant U .S. Attorney David Jennings. 143 00:10:38,930 --> 00:10:43,070 It is a serious crime, and I remember when it came in that I walked down the 144 00:10:43,070 --> 00:10:46,750 hall and talked to a couple of people who had served in the military and asked 145 00:10:46,750 --> 00:10:51,410 them just how outrageous it was to fabricate orders, whether it happened 146 00:10:51,410 --> 00:10:53,390 time or something that would... 147 00:10:53,770 --> 00:10:56,730 deadly serious, and they all confirmed it was serious. 148 00:10:57,010 --> 00:10:58,030 Nobody does that. 149 00:10:59,290 --> 00:11:03,270 The Department of Defense begins to cut ties with Daryl Wright. 150 00:11:04,450 --> 00:11:10,670 They confirmed that he has committed fraud, and that would end his career in 151 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:11,670 military. 152 00:11:13,530 --> 00:11:19,330 Since Wright has no future in the military, he goes to work rewriting his 153 00:11:20,470 --> 00:11:23,030 First, he applies for and receives 154 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:30,280 The Combat Action Badge. It's a relatively new award established in 2005 155 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,780 honor service during active enemy fire. 156 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,540 Then, Wright applies for one of the most prestigious U .S. military honors, the 157 00:11:39,540 --> 00:11:44,100 Purple Heart, which is reserved for those injured or killed on the 158 00:11:45,020 --> 00:11:49,580 They earn that. I mean, that's one of those medals you don't want, but you 159 00:11:49,580 --> 00:11:52,080 happen to get it just depending on the situation you're in. 160 00:11:53,610 --> 00:11:58,370 And it's held in high regard because that is a sacrifice that you've given to 161 00:11:58,370 --> 00:12:02,530 your country. You've given a part of yourself or you've left blood on the 162 00:12:02,530 --> 00:12:03,610 battlefield or whatever. 163 00:12:03,990 --> 00:12:06,150 That's held in high esteem. 164 00:12:07,290 --> 00:12:10,810 A doctor diagnoses Wright with traumatic brain injury. 165 00:12:11,310 --> 00:12:14,770 Suffered during that rocket attack on August 30, 2005. 166 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:22,200 The injury paves the way for Wright being awarded the Purple Heart on March 167 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:23,520 2011. 168 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:26,920 He was a proud Purple Heart recipient. 169 00:12:27,180 --> 00:12:31,580 He had it displayed prominently in his home. He would show it to people. He 170 00:12:31,580 --> 00:12:35,840 would mention it to people. I think most people in this country would say that's 171 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,140 kind of an exalted position in our society, as it should be. 172 00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:43,320 And I think he liked getting that attention. 173 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,320 He went so far as having Purple Heart license plates on his vehicles. 174 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:54,860 So he was clearly somebody that was proud to have people see that and 175 00:12:54,860 --> 00:12:58,940 the fact that he has a Purple Heart and was awarded a Purple Heart. 176 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,820 But at work, things aren't going well for Wright. 177 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,400 The Inspector General of the Commerce Department following up on Jackson's 178 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,840 Begins investigating Wright for forging the military order. 179 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,180 But Wright isn't about to go quietly. 180 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:25,140 Somebody from the union actually contacted me and said, Hey, C .J., you 181 00:13:25,140 --> 00:13:30,380 keep your eye out because this guy is filing a complaint against you. 182 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:37,140 Wright hires a lawyer and claims that C .J. Jackson is harassing him. 183 00:13:37,550 --> 00:13:40,810 and discriminating against him because he's a wounded warrior. 184 00:13:41,830 --> 00:13:45,850 So he deflected the attention away from him. 185 00:13:46,230 --> 00:13:48,190 And then zeroed in on me. 186 00:13:48,870 --> 00:13:53,490 And at first I didn't believe that, because I was saying, well, this guy 187 00:13:53,490 --> 00:13:54,750 falsified documents. 188 00:13:55,030 --> 00:13:56,890 Why am I the one in trouble? 189 00:13:58,470 --> 00:14:02,090 Jackson says she has the support of her immediate superiors. 190 00:14:05,390 --> 00:14:09,910 But at Washington, D .C. headquarters, according to Jackson, it's a different 191 00:14:09,910 --> 00:14:10,910 story. 192 00:14:11,630 --> 00:14:18,490 My agency, because he's a disabled vet, they took his story over mine. 193 00:14:20,890 --> 00:14:24,830 Jackson runs up nearly $30 ,000 in legal fees. 194 00:14:25,870 --> 00:14:29,450 She loses sleep, becomes anxious and depressed. 195 00:14:30,390 --> 00:14:31,830 At one point... 196 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:37,020 The agency recommends Jackson be suspended for 30 days for allegedly 197 00:14:37,020 --> 00:14:42,380 rights privacy by disclosing to the National Guard that he suffers from post 198 00:14:42,380 --> 00:14:43,700 -traumatic stress disorder. 199 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:51,140 I was way out in left field all by myself and spending money on 200 00:14:51,140 --> 00:14:53,480 legal fees out of my own pocket. 201 00:14:54,540 --> 00:14:57,540 I thought I was protecting the interests of the government. 202 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,540 For crying out loud, this guy was falsifying documents so that he couldn't 203 00:15:02,540 --> 00:15:03,540 paid. 204 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,660 After six years of strife, the case is resolved. 205 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:13,520 Wright obtains a severance from commerce that includes disability payments. 206 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,180 Jackson keeps her job, but not without a psychological toll. 207 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,880 I go to bed every night and say, why? 208 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:25,360 What did I do wrong? 209 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:33,900 When I wasn't the one falsifying documents, why was I the one on the run 210 00:15:33,900 --> 00:15:35,400 one fighting for my job? 211 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:43,240 The power that he wielded as a wounded veteran, a decorated veteran, made his 212 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,200 word gospel. 213 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:51,180 That was at least until Joe Rogers got on the case. 214 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:55,060 Next on American Greed. 215 00:15:55,610 --> 00:15:59,230 A dogged investigator uncovers the tale of two Daryls. 216 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:01,810 My job is to keep digging. 217 00:16:03,490 --> 00:16:05,330 And I get paid to not go away. 218 00:16:17,630 --> 00:16:19,630 In downtown Seattle... 219 00:16:20,970 --> 00:16:26,010 Joe Rogers is a special agent with the Inspector General for the Social 220 00:16:26,010 --> 00:16:27,010 Administration. 221 00:16:27,510 --> 00:16:33,010 His job is to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in disability claims. 222 00:16:34,070 --> 00:16:39,050 We get a lot of allegations of people that either don't disclose to Social 223 00:16:39,050 --> 00:16:43,350 Security that they're working or they're over -embellishing their disability or 224 00:16:43,350 --> 00:16:44,650 they're faking their disability altogether. 225 00:16:45,030 --> 00:16:47,030 So those are the types of things that we investigate. 226 00:16:47,870 --> 00:16:49,990 Agent Rogers gets a tip. 227 00:16:50,350 --> 00:16:54,910 There may be something suspicious in the file of Daryl Lee Wright. 228 00:16:55,770 --> 00:17:00,710 Ms. Wright first filed in 2010, and he told Social Security that his 229 00:17:00,710 --> 00:17:05,069 disabilities were pretty severe, that he couldn't get out of bed several days a 230 00:17:05,069 --> 00:17:11,569 week, he had trouble walking, he used a cane, he couldn't feed himself, he 231 00:17:11,569 --> 00:17:15,069 couldn't tie his shoes, he couldn't manage his belt, button his pants. 232 00:17:16,089 --> 00:17:19,390 Those are claims of somebody that's very seriously disabled. 233 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,060 One fact jumps out. 234 00:17:23,339 --> 00:17:29,520 When Wright files this claim in 2010, he is still working for, or at least on 235 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,540 the payroll of, the Department of Commerce. 236 00:17:32,860 --> 00:17:38,660 To investigators, his disability claim seems inconsistent with holding down an 237 00:17:38,660 --> 00:17:41,160 $80 ,000 a year federal job. 238 00:17:42,020 --> 00:17:48,020 He was so disabled from his PTSD and traumatic brain injury that he couldn't 239 00:17:48,020 --> 00:17:49,020 anything. 240 00:17:49,879 --> 00:17:54,620 and couldn't think for a period of time of more than five seconds. 241 00:17:55,940 --> 00:18:00,840 Reading the file, Agent Rogers sees how Wright presents himself to the 242 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:01,840 government. 243 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,620 Now he wants to see for himself. 244 00:18:06,940 --> 00:18:12,640 We're in Snoqualmie, Washington, and we're up in Snoqualmie Ridge, which is 245 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:17,160 residential part of Snoqualmie. It's a newer part of the town, and most people 246 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,160 live here. 247 00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:23,200 kind of in the Bellevue, Seattle area, because it's a great place to raise a 248 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,000 family. There's schools and things in the neighborhoods, a lot of kids. 249 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,760 And this is the street that Mr. Wright lives on. 250 00:18:32,460 --> 00:18:36,540 In fact, his house is right across the street here, the blue house with the 251 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:37,540 white trim. 252 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:43,440 So I came out here to see if I could observe him, and if I observed him, how 253 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:45,780 really functions. He also told Social Security to use a cane. 254 00:18:46,570 --> 00:18:52,270 I expected to see somebody that, if I did see him, he'd be out here in a 255 00:18:52,270 --> 00:18:53,670 awful state using a cane. 256 00:18:55,390 --> 00:19:01,270 Rogers notes that Daryl Wright, seen here in surveillance video taken by 257 00:19:01,270 --> 00:19:06,950 investigators, mows the lawn, does yard work, and comes and goes from his house 258 00:19:06,950 --> 00:19:08,050 on a regular basis. 259 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,000 He never used a cane. He certainly didn't move with any sort of hesitation 260 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:17,600 appear to be certainly disabled or disabled at all for that matter, but 261 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,860 certainly not as disabled as was represented in Social Security in the 262 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:21,860 paperwork. 263 00:19:23,380 --> 00:19:28,600 Talking to people in Snoqualmie, Rogers learns Wright is a member of Rotary. 264 00:19:28,980 --> 00:19:33,720 He belongs to the country club, and he serves on the local planning commission. 265 00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:38,280 Well, it was a tale of two Daryls. 266 00:19:39,340 --> 00:19:43,540 We learned that nearly everyone spoke highly of him, talked about his 267 00:19:43,540 --> 00:19:46,440 intelligence, talked about his ability. 268 00:19:46,780 --> 00:19:53,220 And so, you know, that was completely different from the Daryl Wright that was 269 00:19:53,220 --> 00:19:56,120 being represented in all of his applications for benefits. 270 00:19:57,060 --> 00:20:01,040 And our daughter enjoyed spending time with him. 271 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:06,480 Wright's former partner, Darla McDaniel, shares custody of her daughter with 272 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:07,480 Daryl Wright. 273 00:20:08,430 --> 00:20:14,070 Though Wright tells the government he can't operate a car, he drives alone for 274 00:20:14,070 --> 00:20:18,690 seven hours straight to Boise, at least once a month to spend a few days with 275 00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:19,690 his daughter. 276 00:20:20,370 --> 00:20:23,550 She adored him because he was kind of the fun dad. 277 00:20:23,790 --> 00:20:28,330 He was able to just do all the fun things with her. 278 00:20:29,930 --> 00:20:35,650 Agent Rogers talks to some of Wright's friends, including James Rowe, a local 279 00:20:35,650 --> 00:20:36,650 high school coach. 280 00:20:38,740 --> 00:20:43,180 Rowe has been friends with Wright for 30 years, since the two played high school 281 00:20:43,180 --> 00:20:44,180 basketball. 282 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,000 My neighbor called me and goes, looks like you got the FBI in your driveway. 283 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,000 I said, I do. 284 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:55,960 Rogers, working with an FBI agent, learns that Wright is an assistant 285 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,420 coach, touted in the team newsletter as D .L. 286 00:21:00,820 --> 00:21:01,820 Stallion Wright. 287 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:04,320 He gets out on the court, too. 288 00:21:05,249 --> 00:21:07,930 playing basketball with a group of friends on Monday nights. 289 00:21:09,270 --> 00:21:13,090 After the games, Wright and Rowe go out for beers. 290 00:21:14,330 --> 00:21:19,770 So when they came and asked me, does he need a cane to walk into the gym, I'm 291 00:21:19,770 --> 00:21:22,830 thinking, well, this is a loaded question. These guys are just going to 292 00:21:22,830 --> 00:21:23,830 I'm lying for him. 293 00:21:23,950 --> 00:21:27,050 Because obviously if he's playing basketball, he's not walking into the 294 00:21:27,050 --> 00:21:27,829 a cane. 295 00:21:27,830 --> 00:21:30,970 Then they said, when you guys go next door and eat pizza and drink beer, does 296 00:21:30,970 --> 00:21:31,970 someone have to feed him? 297 00:21:32,350 --> 00:21:37,640 And I'm like... No, he can drink beer pretty well on his own, so there's no 298 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:38,640 over there feeding him. 299 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,980 Rowe says he and his buddy go to Mariners baseball games, camp with their 300 00:21:44,980 --> 00:21:49,060 daughters, and fish and crab in the islands of Puget Sound. 301 00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,960 But Rowe paints a slightly different picture of Daryl Wright than some other 302 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:54,960 sources. 303 00:21:55,140 --> 00:22:00,900 While others say Wright comes back from Iraq more relaxed, Rowe interprets that 304 00:22:00,900 --> 00:22:02,420 mellowness as... 305 00:22:03,770 --> 00:22:06,610 Melancholy. Mopey and distant, and sometimes when he's not engaged in 306 00:22:06,610 --> 00:22:09,650 conversation, it's like he's staring off into space, like there's something else 307 00:22:09,650 --> 00:22:10,650 going on. 308 00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:13,050 But, you know, it was definitely different when he came back. 309 00:22:14,610 --> 00:22:20,170 And while Wright joins Rotary, serves on boards, and even plans to run for city 310 00:22:20,170 --> 00:22:26,730 council in Snoqualmie, Rose's interview shows that Wright has a rougher side. 311 00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:33,450 Once, on a guy's weekend in a mountain town, Wright and Rowe and several other 312 00:22:33,450 --> 00:22:35,030 men are in a dive bar. 313 00:22:36,230 --> 00:22:41,930 The bartender cuts Stallion Wright off and takes away his pitcher of beer. 314 00:22:42,310 --> 00:22:45,950 The ensuing melee is captured on a security camera. 315 00:22:46,790 --> 00:22:50,930 Dude coming after him, dude was big and thick, and he kind of got to take his 316 00:22:50,930 --> 00:22:54,410 pitcher, and Stallion started beating him on the head with the pitcher, and 317 00:22:54,410 --> 00:22:56,930 went to the ground, and the cook. 318 00:22:57,500 --> 00:22:59,820 ran out from behind the kitchen and kicked him in the head. 319 00:23:00,020 --> 00:23:01,620 And they got it all on film. 320 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,940 Eventually, Wright is hauled out, all six feet, ten inches of him, in a 321 00:23:07,940 --> 00:23:09,000 fireman's carry. 322 00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:16,220 Wright later sues the bar for allegedly inflaming his PTSD symptoms. 323 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:20,360 The case is settled with neither side accepting fault. 324 00:23:23,100 --> 00:23:26,500 Up next, Daryl Wright goes to Disneyland. 325 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,140 and walks into a trap of his own design. 326 00:23:31,660 --> 00:23:34,340 Now, I don't know if you've ever ridden Space Mountain Ride. 327 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:42,040 Not what you'd expect to be the favorite ride of somebody suffering from severe 328 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:43,040 PTSD. 329 00:23:57,420 --> 00:24:01,840 In Snoqualmie, Washington, Iraq veteran Daryl Wright lives the dream. 330 00:24:05,260 --> 00:24:07,760 And Uncle Sam foot the bill. 331 00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:15,580 Special Agent Joe Rogers learns that Wright collects as much as $10 ,000 a 332 00:24:15,580 --> 00:24:18,280 from five different federal and state agencies. 333 00:24:19,740 --> 00:24:25,540 What became unusual in this case is the farther we kept going, the farther we 334 00:24:25,540 --> 00:24:28,230 kept digging, that there was just more and more and more. 335 00:24:29,110 --> 00:24:36,010 I think he liked not only the money, but the ability to have what amounted to a 336 00:24:36,010 --> 00:24:40,750 very good salary, over $100 ,000 a year. 337 00:24:42,010 --> 00:24:46,370 I think a good deal of that was probably tax -free as well, and not having to 338 00:24:46,370 --> 00:24:51,650 work. But he could therefore devote his time to other things that he would 339 00:24:51,650 --> 00:24:54,050 rather be doing, whether it be on the planning commission. 340 00:24:54,860 --> 00:24:59,600 playing basketball, coaching basketball, driving to Idaho to see his daughter 341 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,780 once a month, whatever it might be. I mean, who wouldn't like that, right? 342 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:10,640 And all of Wright's applications for benefits lean on his status as a wounded 343 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:11,640 warrior. 344 00:25:11,980 --> 00:25:18,260 Daryl used his Purple Heart, flaunted it, and he weaponized it. Any time he 345 00:25:18,260 --> 00:25:23,080 could use it, any time he could bring it up, any time he could use that episode. 346 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:29,200 He did so to the point where we started to refer to this as the Purple Heart 347 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:30,200 Fraudster case. 348 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:36,600 In May of 2011, the VA launches a new caregiver program. 349 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:42,440 It's designed to help compensate family members of wounded warriors, some of 350 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,560 whom have had to quit jobs in order to be full -time caregivers. 351 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:49,420 Wright sees an opportunity. 352 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:52,620 He enrolls his sister. 353 00:25:53,020 --> 00:25:54,380 Karen Wright in the program. 354 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,700 And she collects a little more than $2 ,000 every month. 355 00:25:59,460 --> 00:26:03,920 She and Wright tell the government she's at his home around the clock, feeding, 356 00:26:04,260 --> 00:26:06,480 bathing, and clothing him. 357 00:26:06,820 --> 00:26:12,480 When our VA personnel were trying to call the caregiver in order to set up an 358 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,000 appointment to come see Daryl, they often couldn't get a hold of the 359 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,500 You would think that a caregiver would be at the person's house. 360 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:27,600 I never saw anybody that came to the house to be his caregiver, and I never 361 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,440 his sister ever show up at the house in any of the time I surveilled out here. 362 00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:37,520 Rogers decides to use a bit of subterfuge. 363 00:26:40,300 --> 00:26:41,900 Hi, Gerald, how are you? Doing well. 364 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:47,600 An undercover agent approaches Wright, saying he's investigating a totally 365 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:48,940 unrelated crime. 366 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,079 You're a tall man. 367 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:51,080 I am. 368 00:26:51,740 --> 00:26:54,240 The hidden camera shows Wright moving quite well. 369 00:26:54,700 --> 00:26:59,000 And the undercover agent learns that Wright is actively supporting his 370 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,760 girlfriend's political ambitions. 371 00:27:02,060 --> 00:27:06,640 She's running for city council and treasurer for her campaign and helping 372 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,400 Oh, wow. You are? Yeah. Oh, cool. Yeah. 373 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:15,900 What does that entail? Just going door to door. And we haven't started. 374 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,480 Next week will be the doorbell and campaign. 375 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:26,380 By March 19, 2014, Joe Rogers is ready to come out of the shadows and announce 376 00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:27,380 his presence. 377 00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:32,020 At 9 .30 a .m., he knocks on Wright's front door. 378 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:39,200 Wright's girlfriend answers and takes Rogers back to the master bedroom, where 379 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,640 he finds Wright in bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. 380 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:45,120 Over three hours, 381 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,500 Rogers asks several versions of one simple question. 382 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,780 How is Wright able to maintain such a vigorous, active schedule? 383 00:27:55,740 --> 00:27:59,000 He just flat out wouldn't answer those questions, and the pieces of them he 384 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,580 would answer, it was very calculated in the sense, well, that was just at one 385 00:28:02,580 --> 00:28:08,000 time, and after I did that, I wasn't able to function for days on end, and so 386 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,400 that's all I can answer that. But then when pressed, he would stop answering 387 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:13,400 question. 388 00:28:14,190 --> 00:28:19,310 Assistant U .S. Attorney Gregory Gruber studies PTSD to see if there's any 389 00:28:19,310 --> 00:28:23,190 possibility it could come and go as Wright describes. 390 00:28:24,390 --> 00:28:29,390 And from everything I've heard from the experts we talked to, nurses, doctors, 391 00:28:29,610 --> 00:28:35,870 psychologists, a severe case like what Daryl claimed to have would be very 392 00:28:35,870 --> 00:28:40,730 inconsistent with some of the stuff that we saw him doing, that Joe Rogers found 393 00:28:40,730 --> 00:28:41,730 him to be doing. 394 00:28:43,860 --> 00:28:49,480 Perhaps no example is as telling as Wright's trip to Disneyland with his 395 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:54,500 daughter. When we asked his daughter what her dad's favorite ride was at 396 00:28:54,500 --> 00:28:56,540 Disneyland, she said Space Mountain. 397 00:28:57,340 --> 00:29:00,580 Now, I don't know if you've ever ridden a Space Mountain ride, and it's been a 398 00:29:00,580 --> 00:29:02,840 long time since I've been on it, but I still remember it. 399 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:09,320 It was very dark. There's flashes of light. There's noise. There's sudden 400 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:10,780 movements. There's people screaming. 401 00:29:12,810 --> 00:29:18,710 Not what you'd expect to be the favorite ride of somebody suffering from severe 402 00:29:18,710 --> 00:29:21,410 PTSD like Daryl said. 403 00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:28,290 For Wright's former partner, Darla McDaniel, these trips stir up mixed 404 00:29:29,070 --> 00:29:32,330 On the one hand, she's happy for her daughter. 405 00:29:33,070 --> 00:29:38,310 But he tended to try and make me feel bad about it because I wasn't able. 406 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,480 to do those things with our daughter. I had a job. 407 00:29:42,980 --> 00:29:47,320 I was working full -time and raising her and barely getting by. 408 00:29:48,380 --> 00:29:55,180 And somehow, he wasn't working and able to 409 00:29:55,180 --> 00:29:56,180 afford all these things. 410 00:29:56,700 --> 00:30:02,040 I just remember so many people in my life asking me what he's doing. How is 411 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:03,040 living? 412 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:04,600 And I had no idea. 413 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,630 No. No way of figuring that out on my own. 414 00:30:10,090 --> 00:30:11,870 But the feds do. 415 00:30:12,570 --> 00:30:17,730 They create a detailed timeline which shows exactly where Daryl Wright and his 416 00:30:17,730 --> 00:30:20,690 sister have been and what they've been up to. 417 00:30:21,990 --> 00:30:26,250 From the records that we had recovered, which include bank records and travel 418 00:30:26,250 --> 00:30:31,590 records and others, many times when the VA personnel were trying to set up an 419 00:30:31,590 --> 00:30:35,450 appointment to come do a home visit, Daryl was in Boise, Idaho, and his 420 00:30:35,450 --> 00:30:39,710 was at Walt Disney World. or he was on a cruise, and his sister wouldn't set up 421 00:30:39,710 --> 00:30:43,930 an appointment because she knew either Daryl wasn't going to be there or she 422 00:30:43,930 --> 00:30:44,930 couldn't be there. 423 00:30:45,070 --> 00:30:49,090 So it was sort of a layer upon layer upon layer of lies. 424 00:30:52,050 --> 00:30:56,630 Up next, the explosive truth about that rocket attack. 425 00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:04,400 To see more from Agent Rogers' undercover operation, head over to 426 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,120 .CNBC .com. 427 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,220 Kirkuk, Iraq, August 30th, 2005. 428 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:23,980 Daryl Wright says a rocket attack on this day rattles his brain and 429 00:31:23,980 --> 00:31:27,220 changes his life forever. 430 00:31:29,130 --> 00:31:33,070 A couple of years ago, I got a call from a federal investigator out of Tacoma, 431 00:31:33,070 --> 00:31:37,470 Washington, saying, do you know a Darryl Wright? And I'm like, yeah, he was 432 00:31:37,470 --> 00:31:38,630 attached to us in Iraq. 433 00:31:39,270 --> 00:31:43,570 And they're like, was he blown up and knocked unconscious on the Iraqi army 434 00:31:43,570 --> 00:31:44,570 in 2005? 435 00:31:44,630 --> 00:31:46,170 And I'm like, no. 436 00:31:47,890 --> 00:31:53,730 Brad Aune remembers that day well, but not the way Wright remembers it. 437 00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:58,000 I was standing right next to Darrell, and his reaction was the same as mine. I 438 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,400 was like, oh, crap, you know, kind of ducking in. 439 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,140 We just kind of like, you know, check it out, waiting for the, okay, is there 440 00:32:05,140 --> 00:32:06,340 any more coming? All right, we're good. 441 00:32:06,740 --> 00:32:09,120 And then I said, okay, Lieutenant, you call it in. 442 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:13,640 And then I just started checking on the troops. Everybody was cool. Everybody 443 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,180 was doing the same thing. We were kind of like, I wonder if there's more. Okay, 444 00:32:16,260 --> 00:32:17,260 we're good. 445 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:23,480 Arnie says he and Wright, who are training Iraqi troops, Use the explosion 446 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,280 teaching moment, an opportunity to study the crater and calculate where the 447 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:29,320 rockets came from. 448 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:34,800 There was no debris. The debris field was 100 meters and away from us. 449 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,440 There was nothing. It was so non -eventful. 450 00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:41,600 At that point, that was kind of not a big deal. 451 00:32:41,940 --> 00:32:45,560 Unfortunately, that's kind of how you get used to something like that, you 452 00:32:46,990 --> 00:32:51,770 The investigators discover that Wright actually puts in two applications for a 453 00:32:51,770 --> 00:32:53,050 combat action badge. 454 00:32:54,350 --> 00:32:58,950 Wright's first version, filed while he is still serving in Iraq, tells the 455 00:32:58,950 --> 00:32:59,950 truth. 456 00:33:01,110 --> 00:33:07,170 His original narrative statement said that, I think the quote is, luckily 457 00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:10,390 was no casualties or property damage from that event. 458 00:33:11,390 --> 00:33:14,010 He was denied a combat action badge for that. 459 00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:20,780 So, according to investigators, when Daryl Wright gets back home, he decides 460 00:33:20,780 --> 00:33:21,780 rewrite history. 461 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:28,120 He submitted a second one that described that he had been blown off of his feet 462 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:33,160 by the blast, which changed everything about it. 463 00:33:34,460 --> 00:33:38,060 Jennings calls this Wright's foundational lie. 464 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:43,000 And it works. Wright receives the Combat Action Badge. 465 00:33:43,290 --> 00:33:46,450 and then parlays that award into a purple heart. 466 00:33:48,630 --> 00:33:53,410 Arnie learns that his signature was attached to Wright's false narrative. 467 00:33:54,270 --> 00:33:55,310 I was furious. 468 00:33:56,430 --> 00:34:00,530 And we really did a hell of a good job, as far as I'm concerned, while we were 469 00:34:00,530 --> 00:34:07,010 in Iraq, and to have someone throw our good name under the bus and just start 470 00:34:07,010 --> 00:34:09,670 creating all these documents with my name on them. 471 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:14,239 You know, 99 .9 % of that stuff is not true. That did not happen. 472 00:34:15,340 --> 00:34:19,560 Other than that first paragraph on that report, that's pretty much the rest is 473 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:20,560 all made up. 474 00:34:22,780 --> 00:34:27,520 One big lie concerns the photo Wright passes off as his wrecked Humvee. 475 00:34:28,420 --> 00:34:31,540 Problem is, it's not his vehicle. 476 00:34:33,100 --> 00:34:35,440 It's not even a National Guard Humvee. 477 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:37,620 It belongs to the Air Force. 478 00:34:39,980 --> 00:34:43,340 Wright has apparently stolen another soldier's story. 479 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:46,239 Stolen their suffering. 480 00:34:47,380 --> 00:34:48,500 Stolen their valor. 481 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,940 Someone was probably pretty hurt in that, so that's fairly shameful to use 482 00:34:54,940 --> 00:34:58,260 vehicle and claim that whatever happened there was your own or build your own 483 00:34:58,260 --> 00:34:59,260 story around it. 484 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,940 Putting himself in for a Purple Heart, doing all these things that are 485 00:35:03,940 --> 00:35:07,900 the worst you could do when it comes to being a soldier. 486 00:35:08,540 --> 00:35:13,360 to throw your brothers under the bus, to claim stolen valor. These kind of 487 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:17,620 things are the ones that just really piss me off. 488 00:35:19,900 --> 00:35:24,420 Up next, Daryl Wright's Day of Reckoning. 489 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:27,320 They say karma's a bitch. 490 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:45,940 On January 29th, 2015, in the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Washington, 491 00:35:46,340 --> 00:35:52,840 Darryl Lee Wright is arraigned on nine counts, including wire and mail fraud, 492 00:35:53,180 --> 00:35:58,220 for allegedly stealing $737 ,000 worth of government benefits. 493 00:35:59,660 --> 00:36:03,940 His sister, Karen Wright, is also indicted on one count of fraud. 494 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:13,180 Over three years of investigation, Prosecutor David Jennings keeps in mind 495 00:36:13,180 --> 00:36:15,500 particular person affected by Wright. 496 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:22,220 C .J. Jackson, the woman who blew the whistle, only to experience a furious 497 00:36:22,220 --> 00:36:23,220 backlash. 498 00:36:24,300 --> 00:36:30,860 I can't speak for the others, but for me, the hell she had to go through gave 499 00:36:30,860 --> 00:36:35,540 motivation to keep digging and to keep finding more to prove who Daryl Wright 500 00:36:35,540 --> 00:36:36,540 really was. 501 00:36:36,670 --> 00:36:38,370 to show that second Daryl Wright. 502 00:36:40,510 --> 00:36:47,410 I think Mr. Wright was trying to create a new person for whatever 503 00:36:47,410 --> 00:36:53,330 reason he wanted to be, this decorated war hero, military officer, and garner 504 00:36:53,330 --> 00:36:58,810 the attention and automatic respect that comes from that. And I think he didn't 505 00:36:58,810 --> 00:37:02,450 really want to work traditionally. I think he enjoyed getting free money. 506 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:06,800 And I think he just kind of wanted to do what he wanted to do and the way he 507 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:07,800 wanted to do it. 508 00:37:08,580 --> 00:37:12,160 Darryl Wright pleads guilty to two counts of wire fraud. 509 00:37:13,180 --> 00:37:17,860 His sister goes to trial, but the jury is unable to reach a verdict. 510 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:22,360 She eventually pleads guilty to one count of making a false statement. 511 00:37:24,220 --> 00:37:30,620 Their fraud victimizes taxpayers, but also veterans who fear their true war 512 00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:32,380 stories have been tainted. 513 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,560 Their real struggles somehow diminished. 514 00:37:37,180 --> 00:37:41,580 And they worry their efforts to get benefits may now be harder. 515 00:37:42,660 --> 00:37:46,040 And I always tell guys, you know, vets, you've got to be your own advocate. 516 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,620 And we've got some guys that are pretty good self -advocates in here. 517 00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:55,220 Brad Awney, who served with Wright, now works full -time as a veteran's advocate 518 00:37:55,220 --> 00:37:58,500 and employment counselor in Fargo, North Dakota. 519 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,180 For the most part, you'll get what you deserve or what you earn. 520 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:06,280 But you got to, sometimes you got to fight more. And you got to fight more. 521 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:08,200 squeaky wheel gets the grease. Yep. 522 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:09,920 And then that's right. 523 00:38:10,060 --> 00:38:12,180 But then there's these guys in the way here. 524 00:38:12,380 --> 00:38:16,760 Well, this isn't a squeaky wheel. This is a broken one. 525 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:22,340 Yeah, you get a broken wheel, like, you know, right, that screws it up for the 526 00:38:22,340 --> 00:38:24,660 rest of us. And I made this point a couple times. 527 00:38:25,060 --> 00:38:26,300 But that's the thing. 528 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:28,360 You know, he's going to. 529 00:38:29,290 --> 00:38:32,370 It makes it harder for all the other guys that have stuff coming. 530 00:38:32,750 --> 00:38:38,470 Throughout this case, we were careful to make sure that when we were prosecuting 531 00:38:38,470 --> 00:38:44,710 Daryl Wright for his lies, that we were careful about making sure we didn't do 532 00:38:44,710 --> 00:38:50,710 damage to all the progress that's been made in educating people about PTSD. 533 00:38:51,290 --> 00:38:57,490 And all I can say to that is that Daryl Wright didn't fail to check a box off 534 00:38:57,490 --> 00:39:03,680 or... misrecollect a doctor's appointment or something he lied 535 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:10,660 so the real heroes those who have been hurt those who are suffering from ptsd 536 00:39:10,660 --> 00:39:16,740 they have nothing to worry about they went over there for us and i think we 537 00:39:16,740 --> 00:39:20,080 forget that a lot and it makes it all the worse when somebody would 538 00:39:20,860 --> 00:39:27,360 Fake injuries and fake conditions that other very brave men and women are 539 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:28,480 actually suffering from. 540 00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:32,120 It's not just a crime anymore. It's just a tragedy. 541 00:39:34,380 --> 00:39:39,640 In 2016, the U .S. government rescinds Wright's combat action badge. 542 00:39:40,900 --> 00:39:43,180 And also his purple heart. 543 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:49,860 On June 1st, 2017, Wright is sentenced. 544 00:39:51,780 --> 00:39:57,600 Kathleen Simcoe, his former friend and boss, is called by the prosecution to 545 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:02,040 testify. I kept saying, that can't be him, that can't be him. And then it was. 546 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:07,660 And I would see the evidence. It was like you want to be in denial until 547 00:40:07,660 --> 00:40:10,660 irrefutable evidence and you can't deny it anymore. 548 00:40:10,900 --> 00:40:15,240 And then I got angry. And I got angrier because I was so disappointed. 549 00:40:17,390 --> 00:40:21,870 Simcoe testifies that Wright appeared uninjured when he came home from Iraq. 550 00:40:22,390 --> 00:40:27,250 At one point, she is asked if she sees Wright in the courtroom and to point him 551 00:40:27,250 --> 00:40:28,189 out. 552 00:40:28,190 --> 00:40:34,870 And as I pointed him out, he waved his hand and did this little wave, and it 553 00:40:34,870 --> 00:40:40,410 just made me want to vomit. It just was, he didn't have the decency to hang his 554 00:40:40,410 --> 00:40:44,710 head. It was just childish and immature, and it was... 555 00:40:45,290 --> 00:40:46,430 Just totally inappropriate. 556 00:40:48,450 --> 00:40:51,190 My hero is the whistleblower in this situation. 557 00:40:51,770 --> 00:40:57,330 Because as taxpayers, we're the ones that end up paying the freight when 558 00:40:57,330 --> 00:40:59,050 like Daryl do the things that they do. 559 00:40:59,870 --> 00:41:01,850 And so she deserves a medal. 560 00:41:02,690 --> 00:41:08,170 C .J. Jackson reads for American Greed the statement she makes in open court, 561 00:41:08,170 --> 00:41:14,230 which she explains how Wright retaliated against her for exposing his fraud. 562 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:17,480 Daryl Wright defamed my character. 563 00:41:18,340 --> 00:41:22,460 What that man has put me through, no one should ever go through. 564 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:28,300 He made six years of my life a nightmare so that he can continue stealing, 565 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:33,960 lying, bullying, and manipulating people to get away with his crime. 566 00:41:37,020 --> 00:41:40,760 Daryl Wright is sentenced to three years in federal prison. 567 00:41:41,710 --> 00:41:45,330 in order to pay restitution of $646 ,000. 568 00:41:47,690 --> 00:41:52,070 His sister, Karen Wright, is sentenced to three years of probation. 569 00:41:53,510 --> 00:41:57,230 Both decline to speak with American Greed. 570 00:41:57,930 --> 00:42:03,330 I'm glad he's in prison. I'm glad he's feeling some pain for this. I'm glad 571 00:42:03,330 --> 00:42:04,308 gave him restitution. 572 00:42:04,310 --> 00:42:06,510 Hopefully they'll be able to get some of that out of him. 573 00:42:06,850 --> 00:42:10,990 He hurt his community by lying to them. 574 00:42:11,500 --> 00:42:17,380 He hurt the National Guard in my unit because he brought us into his scam. 575 00:42:18,580 --> 00:42:21,020 He hurt a lot of people along the way and he needs to feel some pain.