Whatley campaign tied to company accused of preying on veterans

Michael Whatley’s U.S. Senate campaign has accepted more than $40,000 in donations from individuals accused of defrauding veterans.

Each of the donors is affiliated with Veterans Guardian, a for-profit company in Pinehurst that claims to help veterans file disability claims and maximize their health care benefits.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), however, says the company is a “claims shark” that charges veterans exorbitant fees for services that are available to them for free.

The firm is led by Scott Greenblatt and Bill Taylor, each of whom gave $7,000 to Whatley last quarter. Both men also gave $10,000 each to a PAC supporting Whatley.

Whatley also received $2,000 from Brian Johnson, the firm’s executive vice president, and $6,930 from Patricia Taylor, an advisor to the company.

In 2019, the VA sent a cease-and-desist letter to Veterans Guardian, warning it “is prohibited by law from assisting Veterans in the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of their VA benefits.” It appears that Veterans Guardian did not respond to the letter nor alter its business practices.

Three years later, Taylor told a U.S. House subcommittee investigating claims sharks that his company never received a cease-and-desist letter from the VA. He was later publicly rebuked by Congress for withholding this information.

That same year, the veterans’ rights group American Legion warned veterans to avoid Veterans Guardian, which it described as “predatory” and “a pack of vultures.”

More recently, Veterans Guardian has been the target of a whistleblower lawsuit from a former employee who alleges the company instructed customers to exaggerate their ailments and appear unkempt in meetings with the VA to increase their likelihood of receiving benefits. The case is ongoing.

Greenblatt and Taylor also co-hosted a fundraiser for Whatley in September, for which tickets cost between $250 and $14,000.

Whatley is running to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in the 2026 election. His likely Democratic opponent is former Gov. Roy Cooper.