A man who set up a company with a disabled veteran as a figurehead leader pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. The charges against Joseph Madlinger say he bribed a Department of Veterans Affairs official with lunches at a strip club, baseball tickets, and cash to get him to steer business to the company.
Federal prosecutors says Madlinger’s “rent-a-vet” scheme was intended to get 3.4-million dollars in contracts designed to favor businesses run by disabled veterans.