Jacksonville Woman Accused of Stealing 35 Years of VA Survivor Benefits
Gail Starks, 63, is charged with stealing $397,120 in VA spousal benefits from 1991 to 2026 and telling a VA employee she was not married.
A 63-year-old Jacksonville woman has been indicted on charges that she stole Department of Veterans Affairs survivor benefits for a spouse for 35 years, from June 1991 through August 2026, and lied to the VA about being single.
Gail Starks is charged with theft of government money and making a false statement to a federal agency, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said on Oct. 23, 2026. The government is seeking forfeiture of $397,120, which it calls the proceeds of the theft. The allegations have not been proven in court.
According to the indictment, Starks took Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments for spousal support. When the VA looked into whether she was still eligible, she told a VA employee on Aug. 11, 2026, that she was not married, when she was, prosecutors said.
What the VA’s rules say about remarriage
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is a tax-free VA benefit for the surviving spouse, child or parent of a service member who died in the line of duty, or of a veteran who died from a service-related injury or illness, according to the VA.
Under the VA’s eligibility rules, a surviving spouse who remarries can keep receiving the payments only in limited cases: if the remarriage happened on or after Dec. 16, 2003, when the spouse was 57 or older, or on or after Jan. 5, 2021, when the spouse was 55 or older.
The press release does not say when Starks married, who the veteran was or how the VA came to question her eligibility. It says only that the payments ran from June 1991 and that she claimed to be unmarried in August 2026.
If convicted on all counts, Starks faces up to 15 years in federal prison. The VA Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackson M. Story is prosecuting it.
