A New Hampshire veteran has pleaded guilty to faking his need for a wheelchair for 20 years in order to collect over $660,000 in benefits he was not entitled to receive. Christopher Stultz, a 49-year-old kindergarten teacher at Antrim Elementary School, admitted to making false statements to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2003, which granted him a 100% disability rating and substantial monthly benefits. Stultz's scheme was exposed when he was caught "walking normally" after visits to the VA office. He was seen using his wheelchair at the VA Medical Center in Boston in October 2021, only to later lift it into his car and walk normally through a shopping mall. Similar incidents were recorded in 2022. Witnesses who had known Stultz for years also shared with investigators that they had never seen him use a wheelchair or any other walking assistance. When confronted by law enforcement officials, Stultz admitted that he could use both feet and was aware that he was wrongly collecting extra benefits. He has been charged with one count of making false statements and faces up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. Stultz's sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2024. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been cracking down on fraudulent claims, and this case follows the recent indictment and arrest of another veteran, Paul John “PJ” Herbert, for stealing over $344,000 in military disability benefits and falsely representing himself as a decorated war hero.