Call Kurtis: Why Did the V.A.Take $9,000 From Veterans' Widow's Bank Account

EL DORADO HILLS (CBS13) — Six years after her husband, an army war veteran died, the V.A. took 9-grand out of Susan Goodwin's bank account. She says it happened without warning or explanation.

"It was such a surreal devastating time when he died." she said.

Losing her husband was bad enough and then she saw 74 different transactions on her bank statement, with $9,034.88 gone.

"This was beyond shocking just total devastation," she recalls feeling.

Susan says she had no idea what it was or what happened and that it meant taking money out of her kids college fund and her retirement. She was afraid of identity theft. Turns out it was the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Susan wondered why the V.A. would take money from a veteran's widow?

When her husband, Isaac was discharged from the Army, he was awarded disability benefits of about $100 a month.

When he died, she kept receiving the money for six and a half years. She said she just assumed that it was a surviving spouse's benefit because the government knew that he was no longer alive. Susan says she never received a letter or phone call from the V.A and that she has no idea why they would do this without any notice.

The V.A. tells CBS13 it followed policy sending a letter Susan's address they had on file; but she hasn't lived there for almost 10 years. She's paid her taxes, she's received mail, so it's a mystery why the federal agency couldn't figure out how to find her.

Congressman Ami Bera is no stranger to speaking out about the V.A.'s issues. Voting for bills to help veterans facing the inexcusable wait times at V.A. health facilities, Bera also called for the resignation of now former-head of the V.A, General Eric Shinseki.

"This is another case where the the V.A. should have tried harder and that it may not mean sending just one piece of mail. It might mean picking up the phone and trying to track them down."

Bera believes the V.A. should look beyond its policies and if mistakes were made.

"Let's not be defensive about it. Let's step back and say where did the system break down and how do we fix it?" he said.

Susan said she still has not received an apology and she's afraid it could happen to another veteran's widow.

"There's nothing they can do for me to make it better at this point."

If you have an issue with a federal agency, try reaching out to your Congressman or Senator to work on your behalf.