States threaten action against company earning millions off disabled vets

AFP via Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR

A Florida company that charges military veterans as much as $20,000 for help with disability claims is being accused by authorities in New York and Illinois of defrauding those veterans.

Attorneys general in both states say they have ongoing investigations and “intend to commence legal action” against the company, Trajector Medical, “for fraudulent, illegal and deceptive business practices.”

The move comes after an NPR investigation uncovered how Trajector makes millions off of veterans despite warnings from the Department of Veterans Affairs that its business may be illegal. Federal law requires that veterans be given assistance with initial disability claims free of charge.

After NPR’s report, attorneys filed civil lawsuits seeking class action status on behalf of veterans. Trajector then filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which effectively put those lawsuits on hold. Now, the attorneys general are telling the bankruptcy court that they believe Trajector has been making its money illegally.

Their ongoing investigations were revealed in a Sept. 8 letter from state officials to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Florida.

“It is expected that the investigations will reveal that money being held by [the company in the bankruptcy process] was collected through illegality and fraud,” they told the court.

The company has denied those allegations in court.

“We stand behind how we operate, and we’re focused on the veterans we serve,” Trajector spokesman Steve Zenofsky told NPR.

Dustin stateside at an Army base during sniper training. NPR is only using his first name because he fears retribution from the company described in this story.

In particular, NPR’s investigation showed how Trajector uses a robo-dialer system it calls “CallBot” to dial into a VA benefits phone hotline, effectively posing as the veteran by entering the vet’s social security number to monitor increases in VA benefits payments.

The company then uses the financial information it obtains to send bills to thousands of vets who once signed up as clients. If CallBot finds an increase in a veteran’s benefits, it sends them a bill — even if Trajector didn’t help them get an increase in benefits.

That practice is one focus of the investigations in New York and Illinois, according to the letter.

“The Attorneys General are also investigating whether Trajector misuses the personal information that it gathers from veterans through its use of ‘callbots,'” they wrote.

Trajector is not the only claims company to use this technology, according to collaborative reporting between NPR and The War Horse.

Trajector files for bankruptcy

Bankruptcy court records provide insight into Trajector’s finances and operations. Trajector Medical and 21 affiliated companies are included in the filings. Together they employ more than 450 staff and hold approximately $405 million in assets. In 2025, their combined income was nearly $280 million. Most primarily support Trajector’s VA claims work but also include a business that prepares Social Security claims.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy five days before it was poised to default on a loan balance of almost $63 million owed to Deutsche Bank, according to court filings.

Chapter 11 protection allows Trajector to continue business while reorganizing its finances, freezing lawsuits and consolidating claims from creditors.

“This restructuring is a strategic step to strengthen our financial position so we can continue carrying out our mission: helping Americans with disabilities pursue the benefits for which they qualify for,” CEO Jim Hill said in a statement on the company’s website.

CEO buys property before bankruptcy

Hill and his wife purchased a $5.75 million oceanfront home in September 2025, according to local property records.

In bankruptcy court filings, Trajector lists that 6 bedroom, 7.5-bathroom home in the beachside community of Saint Augustine, Fla., as its “principal offices.” Trajector’s corporate headquarters is located 80 miles inland in Gainesville.

Images like this one of Jim Hill’s $5.75 million home on Realtor.com show the property’s sweeping ocean views in St. Augustine, Fla.

Realtor.com/Screenshot by NPR

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Realtor.com/Screenshot by NPR

Trajector does not list the home as a company asset in the filings.

Asked why the CEO bought a $5.75 million home less than a year before the company filed for bankruptcy, Zenofsky said “the two are not related in any way.”

Bankruptcy stalls lawsuits, but not state investigators

The two lawsuits, filed separately in Florida earlier this year, allege the company engaged in deceptive and unfair trade practices by charging veterans for the preparation of initial VA disability claims. Federal law requires such assistance be offered for free by accredited providers. Trajector acknowledges it lacks that accreditation in the contracts it has veterans sign.

But while the bankruptcy puts those lawsuits on hold, it does not stop law enforcement from bringing charges.

“It’s a huge development for these attorneys general to step in like this,” said Jennifer Byrd, an attorney bringing one of the lawsuits against Trajector on behalf of veterans. “The bankruptcy court can’t stop them, they can move forward and keep investigating,” she said.

In their letter, the attorneys general say the fees the company charged veterans “are illegal under state and federal law.” The state investigators therefore expect to show that money Trajector says it has on hand to pay back creditors was made through “illegality and fraud” and that it “should not be considered property of the estate.” In other words, it’s not Trajector’s money.

In a bankruptcy hearing the day after the states sent their letter, a lawyer for Trajector, Edward Peterson, refused to answer questions about the investigations.

“The letter speaks for itself. We deny the allegations in the letter. [This hearing] is not a fishing expedition for these investigations,” he said.

Still, it’s unclear what the investigations will mean for the veterans trying to get their money back.

Even with the attorneys general alleging that veterans were victims of fraud, that does not put veterans at the front of the line of creditors to be repaid through the bankruptcy process.

“In a corporate bankruptcy, there is no exception for fraud,” said Bruce Markell, a former bankruptcy judge and a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Markell said that means veterans and their attorneys who believe they are owed money will likely end up being treated like any other creditor.

Regulation and lawsuits threaten Trajector

Trajector blames its cash-flow woes on an increasingly adversarial regulatory landscape, bankruptcy court filings show.

Since 2024, Trajector Medical has suspended services in 23 states where local laws “prevent, severely limit, or impose undue risks on continued operations,” the company said. Trajector Medical’s revenue in the first half of 2026 declined approximately 60 percent compared to the year prior “primarily as a result of these legal and regulatory changes,” the company said.

Those state laws have been passed in part because of a contradiction created by Congress 20 years ago. In 2006, the U.S. was at war in Iraq and there was a feeling vets needed more options to navigate an increasingly complex claims system. In a half measure, Congress voted to eliminate the federal criminal penalties for breaking the law against charging veterans money for help with initial disability claims but left intact the law itself, which also requires that anyone providing help must be accredited by the VA. So the ban remains on the books, but it became more difficult to enforce it.

Congress has been deadlocked for years over whether to reinstate civil penalties on unaccredited claims companies or legitimize the industry while setting caps on fees for vets. Claims companies and accredited veteran service organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars lobby fiercely on opposing sides, and new bills on the issue have been introduced as recently as June.

In the absence of more federal oversight, a patchwork of state laws has filled in the gaps. In February, California passed a bill that will impose penalties on unaccredited claims companies starting next year. The same month, a federal judge struck down Louisiana’s 2024 law that allowed such companies to operate in the state with fees capped at $12,500.

Trajector’s filings also state that internal discord contributed to its decision to file for bankruptcy protection.

Trajector took out a 5-year, $75 million loan from Deutsche Bank in 2021, and court filings show disagreements over how to manage the debt drove a wedge between the company’s owners – Hill, a Navy veteran, and co-founder Gina Uribe, a nurse practitioner. With the repayment deadline looming, the company took Uribe to court in May 2026 over their impasse.

Trajector’s financial disclosures show Hill has been making a base salary of $600,000 annually with the possibility for performance-based bonuses of $600,000 each quarter. Uribe earns $197,000 annually and does not receive bonuses.

Trajector’s made a “mind-blowing” amount of money

Through the bankruptcy, veterans can see how much money the company has been making — hundreds of millions of dollars.

“It’s a mind-blowing amount of money,” said Dustin Ingram, a former Army Ranger. In NPR’s 2025 investigation, he said the company didn’t do much to help him and sent him a big bill.

“I think that they took advantage of me and… accessed the VA database to find out if I had a claim so they could make $4,500 from a guy who spent five and a half years in the Army and two tours in Afghanistan,” he told NPR last year. He refused to pay.

NPR also spoke to veterans who said they were pleased with the help from Trajector in increasing their benefits. Trajector said in a statement to NPR at the time, “We encourage any client who feels their experience was less than satisfactory to contact us immediately.”

Dustin Ingram saw combat in eastern Afghanistan while deployed with the 1st Infantry Division in 2012.

Via Dustin Ingram

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Via Dustin Ingram

Ingram called the civil lawsuits filed against Trajector and the state investigations “vindicating.”

He said the scale of the profits that companies like Trajector have made should be a wake up call to the VA and policymakers.

“If we create a vacuum, they will fill it,” he said. He says the military needs to do a better job of connecting vets with benefits as they transition out of active service. “It should be very simple and very easy to receive benefits,” he said.

Ekjhalak Hindi

States threaten action against company earning millions off disabled vets

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