Arizona extracts $1.95 million from VetLink Solutions over unauthorized VA claims fees
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a $1.95 million consent judgment in May 2026 against White Tanks Group LLC, doing business as VetLink Solutions, resolving allegations that the company violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act by charging veterans nationwide up to $12,000 — described elsewhere in the case as "as much as $20,000" — for VA disability claims help it was not accredited to provide, using a prohibited contingency-fee structure, from 2019 through 2024. Of the settlement, $1.2 million goes to restitution for eligible veterans and $700,000 to the state's consumer protection fund. VetLink had already stopped operating and been acquired by another company by the time the settlement was announced.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Settled
- Reported loss
- $1.2 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- VA claims shark scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-18
The facts, as recorded
- The consent judgment was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court against White Tanks Group LLC (dba VetLink Solutions) and its principals.
- VetLink advertised nationwide from 2019 through 2024, implying it could guide veterans through the VA disability claims process and promising unrealistic benefit increases.
- The company used a prohibited contingency-fee structure and charged some customers as much as $12,000 — Attorney General Mayes separately described fees 'upwards of as much as $20,000' — tied to a veteran's disability payment increase.
- Settlement terms: $1.2 million in restitution to eligible veterans, $700,000 in civil penalties to Arizona's Consumer Protection–Consumer Fraud Revolving Fund, and $50,000 in attorneys' fees and costs; a claims administrator will notify eligible customers by postcard.
- VetLink ceased operating in 2024 and was acquired by another company, REE Medical, that same year, while the state's investigation was ongoing.
- Arizona's own Department of Veterans Services employs roughly 60 benefits counselors for the state's approximately 500,000 veterans — a capacity gap Attorney General Mayes cited as part of why companies like VetLink find customers.
- Attorney General Kris Mayes: 'My office will not allow companies to exploit veterans who are simply trying to access the benefits that they bravely earned.'
Why this case matters
This is the only case on this page where the company had already quietly exited the business — selling itself to another company mid-investigation — before the state finished its case, showing how little friction closing up and rebranding puts on an operator once regulators start looking.
The capacity gap behind the pitch
Attorney General Mayes made an unusual point for a fraud settlement: the free alternative is real, but badly understaffed. Roughly 60 state benefits counselors for around 500,000 Arizona veterans means a paid company with a search ad is often genuinely easier to reach than the free, accredited option — not because the free option doesn’t exist, but because it’s hard to find capacity in it.
What veterans actually get back
Of the $1.95 million settlement, $1.2 million is earmarked as direct restitution to eligible veterans, notified by postcard through a claims administrator — a smaller, more direct channel than the multi-year class-action process in the Veterans Guardian case, though the total recovered is also smaller.
The caveat
This is a civil consent judgment resolving Arizona Consumer Fraud Act allegations, not a criminal conviction. No individual principal was reported charged criminally in connection with this matter as of this page’s last review, and the settlement does not include an admission of liability beyond what is stated in the public release cited above.
Sources
- Attorney General Mayes Announces Nearly $2 Million Settlement to Protect Veterans from Misleading Disability Claims Practices. Office of the Arizona Attorney General. Accessed 2026-09-18. Supports: The consent judgment, the corporate defendant names, the 2019–2024 operating period, the $12,000 fee figure, the settlement breakdown ($1.2 million restitution, $700,000 civil penalty, $50,000 fees and costs), and the Mayes quote.
- Mayes announces $2 million settlement in veterans benefit lawsuit, says more needs to be done. KJZZ. Accessed 2026-09-18. Supports: The 'as much as $20,000' fee figure, Arizona's roughly 500,000 veterans against 60 state benefits counselors, VetLink's 2024 acquisition by REE Medical, and the additional Mayes and Rep. Aaron Marquez quotes.