September 18, 2025 • 59 mins
We trace a veteran’s path from early enlistment to JAG attorney and into VA benefits law, then dig deep into SMC strategy, effective dates, and what it really takes to move from denials to life-changing awards. Along the way, we share wins, warnings, and the tactics that keep claims on track.
• service-to-law journey and family-driven practice
• scope across RO, BVA, and CAVC
• evolving SMC law and teaching others
• foot drop framed as loss of use
• sequencing to avoid the “P” award trap
• paths to R1 and R2 with evidence
• HLR wins and earlier effective dates
• fiscal-year patterns and BVA errors
• caregivers, institutional standards, and 2680 nuance
• fiduciary pitfalls and automation mistakes
• choosing HLR vs board escalation
• community referrals and sustainable workflows
Jennifer Lohnes
“www.lohneslaw.com”
Tune in live every Thursday at 7 PM EST and join the conversation! Click here to listen and chat with us.
Visit J Basser's Exposed Vet Productions (Formerly Exposed Vet Radioshow) YouTube page by clicking here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
J Basser (00:05):
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of
Jay Bastard's Exposed VetProductions.
It's a beautiful Thursday, 18thday of September.
The days are getting shorterand the time's going by faster.
Today we've got a treat foryou.
We've got our co-host, Mr.
Ray Cobb.
We got my better hat.
(00:25):
She's hiding behind the screen.
She's a producer.
We got three guests tonight.
First one that doesn't need anintroduction, it's Mr.
Alex Graham.
He's a show regular.
Alex is an accredit appealsagent, not attorney
practitioner.
And uh he is uh one of thespecial monthly compensation
(00:47):
gurus that I've met over theyears.
Then we've got uh Miss Mrs.
Tamar Dyson.
Yes, that's right.
Our main guest tonight is Mrs.
Ginny Lones.
Ginny is an attorney.
She's based out of the DC area.
Uh she's retired military.
(01:08):
And uh just talking to her theother day, and uh it's kind of a
kind of a good story what shedid.
Uh Ginny, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Start us off and tell us a bitabout yourself, uh, you know,
and uh what you do and thingslike that.
Just kind of give us a heads upso we'll you know we're
comfortable with to know what uhwhat you know what you do for
(01:29):
uh for a living.
Jennifer Lohnes (01:30):
Sure, sure.
Well, I mean, I can a littlebit about my service.
I I um I joined when orenlisted when I was 17 years
old.
My parents had to sign thewaiver.
Um to let me in.
I was I got into transportationbecause at the time I wanted
the shortest AIT with thelargest bonus, and that was in
what 2000, 2000, I think.
(01:53):
Anyway, um I got a $6,000 bonusand I ended up being a truck
driver.
So um I did that for a coupleof years until they realized I
was not a great driver, and Ieventually um transitioned on to
be a paralegal and theneventually an attorney in the
JAG court.
So I was in Kosovo in 2004 andIraq in 2009.
(02:14):
Can you guys hear me okay?
unknown (02:18):
All right.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:19):
Um I met my husband at the basic course, the
JAG school in Charlottesville.
Um, he's active duty, he's JAG.
Um we have four kids, and we'reliving right now, currently
near DC.
Five kids.
Got one in college, so he'spretty self-sufficient.
So I I don't count him sincehe's not at home anymore.
J Basser (02:41):
You have one in college.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:43):
One in college.
J Basser (02:44):
Uh I hope he got some scholarships because college is
not cheap.
unknown (02:48):
Yes.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:49):
He's R O T C, so he's getting there.
J Basser (02:52):
Oh, okay.
That's good.
Um that's really good.
Uh being familiar with thatarea.
Um I like the area.
Um, it's a little bit crazy.
Uh I wish they all knew how todrive a little better because I
had to say a lot of them can'tdrive to save their life over
there.
I call that CaptainCrunchville.
I'm serious.
There's wrecks everywhere.
Jennifer Lohnes (03:13):
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I agree.
J Basser (03:16):
But um now, whatever made you decide to take up VA
law.
Jennifer Lohnes (03:25):
Well, um mostly, you know, I I was I I
retired retired as I retired umfrom the military and um the
kids that we have at home, myoldest is special needs, um and
this allows me to work aroundhis schedule, um, you know, work
(03:46):
around the stuff that I havegoing on, um, and it allows me
to get back.
J Basser (03:52):
Okay.
Okay.
Well, that's a good answer.
I mean, you know, it's alwaysuh uh it's always a good thing
when you can give back.
And uh, you know, you can takecare of veterans and you know,
things like that, which isreally good.
I mean, now uh in yourpractice, I guess uh you start
with the appeals processes anddo you go up to the BVA level or
(04:13):
do you keep going until you goto the CABC or how high do you
go?
I mean, that's a that's a goodquestion we have to ask.
Jennifer Lohnes (04:18):
Yeah, so I've I have a few cases at the Court
of Appeals or at the CABC rightnow, um, but I I usually I like
to stay at the the regionaloffice PVA.
I'm more comfortable there.
J Basser (04:30):
Well, my personal question is he's pretty good.
It's always better.
Speakers (04:37):
Go ahead, Alex.
I just said there's more moneydown below than there is at the
court.
J Basser (04:44):
That's true, too.
That is true too.
But uh, you know, of course,money's not everything, Alex,
you know.
I mean, uh, you know, I runthis show and uh uh I haven't
seen a dime.
Speakers (04:57):
So well, I'm not thinking of it in terms of just
making money, but Jenny, I couldtell by looking at the room
behind her that uh she doesn'tget to sit there for free.
I hit the jack button, I have arich wife, but everybody got
(05:17):
her mirror outs.
J Basser (05:18):
There's two JDs in the house, okay?
Speakers (05:21):
Yeah, well, I just look at the standpoint as I buy
all my independent medicalopinions for my guys, and if I
win 30,000, 40,000, I don't havethe heart to say, hey, you owe
me 2,000 back.
So I give those away.
They need it more than I do.
We don't know when you gottawrite.
(05:42):
We donate a ton of money to uhtunnel the towers and Fisher
House, too.
So Fisher House, they let mywife stay there for almost a
month and a half when theythought I was gonna die back in
2009.
And they generally say only aweek, maybe two in a stretch.
But I just didn't die.
(06:04):
Took me a long time not to die.
J Basser (06:08):
I had to say that's one of the best things that the
VA has got in their facilities,and their grounds in the
fisherhouse.
It is.
Um we've got a beautiful onehere.
I saw it today, as a matter offact, and uh, you know, and what
they do for people and thingslike that, there's kitchens you
can cook and do whatever youwant to do in there, and they're
beautiful buildings.
Speakers (06:25):
And those refrigerators are full of food
all the time.
You don't have to run down thefish.
J Basser (06:32):
Well, you can't do that here, you get run over.
It's called Frauder Lane.
So but uh now you teach classeson special monthly
compensation.
Is this how you met some ofthese folks?
Is this some of your studentsthat you've over over over the
(06:53):
past that uh you taught them?
And because I know you're theguru when it comes to SMC.
You know, you still startedwith Mr.
Potato Head many, many moonsago.
unknown (07:03):
Mr.
Speakers (07:04):
Potato Head was born in 2013 for SMC purposes.
Uh but uh there's a gal namedBetty Jones, she's an agent up
in Chicago, and she keptpestering me day in and day out
after uh uh the pandemic wasover uh and uh saying I've got a
(07:24):
whole bunch of people who wantto learn this.
And finally I said, okay, ifyou can assemble ten at one
time, I'll do it.
Well, she had 10 and another 10lined up behind that, and it
turned out it was another 10behind that.
But I just didn't feel likedrowning the uh the market with
(07:45):
too many people that know how todo it because then it it
cheapens it.
I I I know that CCK is reallygood at it, but they're nobody's
perfect at this.
And I'm not saying that I am,but things change all the time.
And a good example of that isBarry versus McDonough, uh has
(08:08):
opened up quite an avenue for usto go at it and get to N and a
half plus K using SMCP, whichcreates its own opportunity to
reach R1 for a lot of people,much like the people who get to
SMCT via uh 1L for aid andattendance.
(08:30):
So it's it's constantlychanging.
I taught it and now I almosthave to go back and reteach it
with all the new stuff.
We lost John, it looks like.
J Basser (08:44):
I mean, it's a never-inning battle.
You know, I mean, becausethere's always they're always
making changes.
Um get to watch the federalregister like a hop.
Jennifer Lohnes (08:52):
I met Alex.
I reached out to Alex because Ihad a tricky case where I
didn't think I was going to getthe guy past 60 percent, and he
had a number of issues, but Ijust I couldn't figure out how
to get it service connected.
Anyway, um I had posted on aforum that we're both involved
in about a foot drop, and hereached out to me and he goes,
(09:13):
Well, foot drop, are you lookingat lost views?
I was like, What's lost what'slost views?
Anyway, so you know, we endedup um I mean he he's at SMCL
right now.
I'm not sure if we're gonna ifwe're going to go farther with
him, but that's that's how I metAlex and he just completely
changed the way I look at casesnow.
J Basser (09:34):
Thank you.
I mean Alex has helped a lot ofus immensely over the years.
I've been friends with Alex foroh goodness, I'm gonna say
going on 15, 16 years.
Yeah.
You know, and uh so and he'salways been he's been a part of
the show for a long, long time.
Remember back in the day whenhe first started coming on the
show, it was uh kind of innerinfancy, and he taught us more
(09:57):
than we'll ever, you know.
I mean, it'd be hard to payback everything this man's ever
taught me.
Jennifer Lohnes (10:01):
Yeah, yeah, right, right.
I mean, he's he's he's he'scompletely changed the way I
practice and how I approachcases now.
Speakers (10:09):
One thing that I offer everybody that I taught with my
SMC class is John, it's veryimportant is to have ever had a
question about it.
There's the device right there.
Feel free to call me if youdon't understand what you're
doing, because I they paid goodmoney to learn how to do it.
(10:30):
And if they're still confused,then I'm I'm a failure.
I didn't I didn't succeed inteaching them.
Jennifer Lohnes (10:38):
But even before, I will say, and I I
don't know if if Alex, I mean,you might not want to, but but
Alex has been even before I tookthe class, he was available.
Like anytime I had questions,he he he helped me before.
I didn't understand it before Itook his class, but he was
guiding me before I took hisclass.
So I'll I'll always be thankfulto Alex.
J Basser (11:01):
Well that's good.
I mean he's always um you know,you talk about foot drop.
Um, you know, our buddy Rayhere, he's uh uh I think he's
got both his foot drop now anduh he fought that and basically
he had the help of one of Mr.
James Cripps.
He finally used Alex later onto in in in his process to get
(11:22):
his R2, but uh uh that foot dropand that you know, you get that
second L that that's a that's athat's a big deal when it comes
to touching more thancompensation.
Ray Cobb (11:32):
Right.
And it's uh when you talk aboutwhen you talk about foot drop,
one thing that James and Ifigured out several years ago
now, I've had it for eight orten years.
And uh the most important thingis if you put in for foot drop
(11:55):
loss of use at the same time,they're gonna kick you in into
the into a different categorythat yeah, you'll get it, but it
will keep you from getting upto that R2.
Um we both have a friend thatwe know that's been on the show
with us before, John, that thatdid just exactly that, which we
(12:20):
had uh made the suggestion thathe not do that, that he do one,
and then when he wins the firstone, he go after the second one.
Well, he sacall was like, Iwant all my money all at one
time.
And because of that, he endedup, I think, with um I think
he's eight years of not beingable to get to the R2 level.
(12:42):
Now he finally just a few twoor three months ago, finally
reached and was able to get tothat R2.
But not without going through alot of uh additional steps and
jumps and hoops and uh andexams, um, which if he had taken
them one at a time, which Ithink Alex and I even talked
(13:04):
about that years ago, um it'seasier to get one approved and
get it done correctly than toget two approved.
They like to call it bilateraland put you into the P award
instead of uh uh because two L'sput you to the O and the O puts
you to the next level ofstandard aid attendance for
(13:24):
special monthly compensation.
And that's a big deal if you'realready R1 because the next
level is R2.
If you're standard, it puts youto R one.
So if you do it correctly,you're okay, but if you don't do
it correctly, you're gonna havea hard time getting to R1 and
R2.
Speakers (13:45):
Well, it's like it's like uh going up Mount Everest.
It helps to have a Sherpa.
Like I said, trying to trainall these gals here and and and
other people is help, Ray, I'm74 years old.
Well, I'm holding my hand up soit's not shaking.
(14:08):
If I put it down here on thekeyboard, it goes all over the
place.
But that's okay.
I I don't know which one it is,whether it's Parkinson's or
Parkinson's.
I don't care, but I can smellit coming a mile away.
And when I reach the pointwhere things really get bad, I'm
gonna be smart enough and pullthe plug on myself and and just
refer other people.
I'll probably keep myaccreditation just so I have
(14:32):
access to VBMS.
But I'm gonna be handing thesethings out like a poker chips at
a 21 table when I when I reachthat point.
J Basser (14:48):
You know, you guys are you guys are pretty amazing
what you do.
I mean, uh you know you'reshould be the Alex, you don't
have time to turn around.
And you go to this NovaCommerce for a week and come
back, and you probably just youprobably bury it under under
under a bunch of stuff and getback.
Speakers (15:06):
Yeah, I got 10 new powers of attorneys stacked up
here on my desk.
I haven't even written yet.
I like to put them and handthem out uh if I can to pass
them out to other people, and uhhanding them out to about 15
different people.
So I said it's like a like apoker game, you know.
(15:27):
You want another hit?
Daisy, but uh she's a whippet,she belongs to my son.
I'm babysitting there in caseyou're wondering what this head
is popping up down there on thescreen.
J Basser (15:45):
Well Mr.
Doolittle.
Dr.
Doolittle.
No.
But uh Ginny, uh how how howsome of your how some of your
things go as far as client well,are you having pretty success
in getting people connected orat the BBA or the board level?
Because I know we want to tryto keep it at the regional
(16:08):
office as long as possible, butlately I've seen so many crazy
stupid denials based on nothingthat uh I don't know what
they're doing.
It's a mess.
Jennifer Lohnes (16:18):
Yeah, um I actually had a really good one
um higher level review lastweek.
Um it was a request forrevision where we we were able
to get um this guy service anearlier factive date for his
sleep apnea back to 1998.
So life-changing money for him,and it was off of a higher
(16:38):
level review.
So I've I've been um I've beenhaving some pretty good luck at
the regional office, but for themost part, it's going pretty
well at the BBA as well.
Turn the camera off,thankfully.
Otherwise, I'll call West forthose.
J Basser (16:58):
Well, I mean it's what you know, it is what it is.
Um people do have a uh you knowa knack for certain things, but
uh it's good that you can winat the HLR level, and I've seen
a lot of folks win at HLR, andthen I've seen a lot of folks
not win at HLR.
I guess it all depends on uhbecause I know HLRs are
different locations in theregional offices.
(17:19):
You know, you do an HLRs, itgoes to what uh somewhere in
Florida and somewhere else.
So I've got one now, and HLRwould be the second trip for an
agent in this claim that uhbasically rejected by the
regional office because theydidn't want to make the
decision.
I guess they wanted to punt.
That's another issue.
You know, sometimes the ROdidn't want to write a claim,
(17:39):
and uh so I I think I calledthat a BVA deferral.
Jennifer Lohnes (17:43):
Yeah, yeah, I will say most of the SMC claims
that I've had for at least thatsecond aid in attendance have
had to go to the board.
Oh yeah.
So um I've been lucky a fewtimes with at least the first
aid in attendance, buteverything else I've had to take
to the board.
Speakers (18:01):
I just kenny, I just got one day before yesterday,
and it was no Johnny, you onlyget one aid in attendance.
I'm sorry, it won't do acustomer.
It says it run away a decision.
No, you're already getting aidin attendance, dude.
That would be and I got anotherone from the board from uh John
(18:23):
Crowley, and it was justanti-laska.
I'm sorry you can't get therefrom here.
You are you don't qualify forR2, so you can't get to T.
I even have a Mendic IMO sayingthis person is charcoal.
He cannot possibly existoutside of a hospital and
(18:44):
crawling rights.
And besides, there's nothingthere that says he needs to be
institutionalized.
So you're out of here, Jack.
That's headed to the TABC.
I just handed that to Wesleyyesterday.
Jennifer Lohnes (18:58):
Well, that one's tough because I mean,
where what would happen if theydidn't have the caregiver,
right?
Like they it's like they theyrequire that box to be checked
on the 2680, but but oftentimesif you have a caregiver, you're
not you're not going to beinstitutionalized.
Speakers (19:15):
Well, you can always hire visiting angels to fill in
that if you're a single or awidower or something like that.
They didn't have any daughtersthat were willing to do it.
There's there's avenues to doit, just like there's avenues
for a fiduciary, as opposed tohaving the wife or the sister or
somebody do that for you ormom.
J Basser (19:39):
A lot of times the fiduciaries you've got to be
careful because if uh sometimesI've seen the regional office
take uh uh take the veteran'sfiduciary status instead of give
it to the wife or you know,maybe a parent or somebody in
the family, they give it toanother attorney somewhere.
Oh yeah.
In order to ask for uh, youknow, yeah, it's it's it can get
(20:00):
pretty ugly.
Speakers (20:02):
Well, they pay them buck fifty a month to do
nothing, basically.
I'll tell you what the problemis, is I see it, and I've been
talking with quite a few peoplearound me here in this business.
Physical year ends September30th, and the new the new chow
line starts on October 1st.
(20:23):
We're seeing eight wheelbarrowloads of BVA decisions coming
out, and they're all wrong.
Very few of them grantanything.
100 bucks says on October 2ndyou're gonna see a complete
change.
They'll all be granting thembecause they have money again.
The decisions I see come outbetween September 1 and
(20:47):
September 30th almost invariablyall have to be appealed.
Jennifer Lohnes (20:54):
Jenny, I'm wishing I wouldn't take any case
to the board.
Speakers (20:59):
Have you ever got seen a preliminary rating decision
code sheet and uh SMC calculatorcome out on 825, and all of a
sudden on 918 there's a brandnew rating decision, and the old
one disappeared?
Well, I print the old ones andI use them, and I'll go back in
on a supplemental and says, heyguys, you already gave them SMC.
(21:20):
Yes, you can't take it back.
Jennifer Lohnes (21:23):
Right, right.
I I save all my good decisions.
Speakers (21:26):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
The moment I populate, I printthat sucker before it goes
bye-bye.
Jennifer Lohnes (21:35):
Right, right.
How's it going for you, Tamara?
Guest (21:40):
You know, I have a couple of cases Alex gave me that I've
been building up, and one ofthem, as soon as I got the guy
the hundred percent, they, oh mygod, we made a mistake and come
wanted to take it back.
And I had to, well, actually, Isent out an SOS.
Alex responded to one of them,and I got him to um got some
(22:02):
other claims of his, you know,got some new claims, some of the
residuals and stuff included.
And uh this guy had braincancer, and you could see every
screw and every plate right inthe top of his head.
Like if you looked at it, Itook some good, really graphic
pictures.
And I think that um, I thinkthat the people that he started
seeing, they really wanted tohelp him, you know.
(22:22):
And so they did get him, gothim to the 100%, got his chapter
35 back, you know.
But but that was yeah, and thenI had a couple other that
they're trying to take away too.
So I'm still waiting for someof my other ones to just come
through.
Like Alex says, you have tokind of build them.
But what I was wondering iswhen is the time gonna come
where, because I have a new guyand he was denied because he got
(22:44):
it already, right?
Uh, and so I'm working withhim.
But but when is this wholething gonna get to the point
where we can get the Wendy's atthe at the uh regional office?
Alex has been going to theboard for years now, and now we
got a decision in our favor.
How long is that gonna take totrickle down?
I'm pretty new at this, so Idon't know how long that kind of
thing takes.
Jennifer Lohnes (23:05):
As far as Barry, they haven't updated
their regional, have they, Alex?
Guest (23:09):
I don't know.
Speakers (23:13):
For these older guys like 75-ish kind of crew, they
generally come right back andpromulgate them quickly, wrong,
I might add, because they'll getthe effective paint wrong,
they'll get the percentagewrong, they'll lowball you uh
with that 30% for your heart,and then say they won't tell you
(23:35):
even, they'll just say, we'regonna get some exams.
Here's a 30 to hold your placein line, they'll send you out
for a CNP, come back and giveyou the 100, and and finally
grant it back where it'ssupposed to be if you appeal it.
But I can't get anybody to giveme the correct effective data
(23:55):
anymore.
They just don't.
And I think they're likebrowbeating the OIG and saying,
would somebody please fix theM21 so we don't have to suffer
this?
It costs the the client money.
Guest (24:10):
We'd be cost everybody money.
The government, everybody.
Speakers (24:15):
God, it just irks me no end to see this gross
inefficiency because they'reusing AI, OCR, and scanning
everything.
It's all being done bymachines, and machines can't see
the illogic of having anoriginal claim with a 526 in
(24:35):
2015, and you finally grantafter three BVA opinions and
remands, and they say, Yep, yourservice connected.
That service connected is backto 2015, not the day of the CFP
exam.
They just don't.
It doesn't compute because it'sa machine, it's not a human
(24:55):
being.
When I first started in thisbusiness in 1989, I went down
and had a little attitude talkwith my rating officer at the
regional office.
And there was a secretary at afront desk, and I said, Hey, is
John in?
Because I could see his name onmy decision.
She says, Yeah, third thirddesk down on the left, and just
(25:19):
walk back there and sit down.
Hi, John, my name's Alex.
Oh, yeah, I read your file.
I said, Yeah, well, cool.
How come I didn't win?
He says, Well, yeah, you gottahave more mustard on your hot
dog, son.
And he was also the guy thatdid my VA cla uh VA home loan.
(25:40):
He was a man of jack of alltrades.
He later became the regionaloffice uh director, even though
he didn't have a college degree.
That was back before they wereused SES guys.
But he was much more now,everything's locked.
Metal detectors, dogs that biteyou, and everything else.
(26:01):
You cannot get into the vaultwhere the uh Veteran Service
Center is, where the Raidersare.
J Basser (26:08):
That's the Tom Cruise effect, Alex.
Speakers (26:11):
Did you hear the Tom Cruise effect?
No, I'm not familiar with thatone, John, but I have a sneaky
suspicion you're gonna tell meall about it.
J Basser (26:19):
You know, back in the first Jack Reacher movie.
Um Tom Cruise was interviewedby the chief of police there in
the small town.
And, you know, of course, JackReacher was also an investigator
for the Army, and uh uh thepoliceman asked him, Well, we're
the same.
There's no difference betweenyou and I.
So Tom Cruise turned and lookedat the police chief and said,
(26:40):
Yes, there's one difference.
He said, What's that?
He said, The people that Iinvestigate are train killers.
That's the Tom Cruise effect.
Because I used to rotate theseguys around every so often, too.
You know, they'd move theirpositions, you know, it's like
musical chairs in that office.
(27:00):
One would stay around a year ortwo and go to the next place.
And it's kept moving around andaround and around.
And then when they started thisnational work queue and
everybody started grabbing filesoff the computer, then things
changed a little bit.
And as far as the uh screws upin the numbers being messed up
as far as retro and things likethat, it's all a mathematical
equation because their system isnot antiquated to handle the
(27:24):
information going into it, andit's something it's a technical
issue.
Personally, I take the wholesystem and I'd go down to Fort
Bellevore and take it into oneof them little buildings there
where all them geniuses work anduh let them fix it with a uh
and then they bring put it backin play and it worked just fine.
Jennifer Lohnes (27:44):
I don't know if I can ask this, but then what
do you guys think about um thetalk about potentially hinging
uh benefits on income?
Because I what I wonder is justeven that aside, with all the
issues with effective dates andratings, you know, how are you
gonna now throw in veteranincome?
(28:07):
You know, who's gonna becalculating all this out and
what this this particularveteran, you know, should be
getting, right?
Um I think there's been kind ofmessed up.
J Basser (28:19):
Speaking of with a couple of congressional friends
that I have, uh they've got agroup of people who sit in one
building here in DC, have acouple miles from you.
And they got this big basementbuilding, they go in and sit
down and they put a round table,and they got this big wall set
up and they write these ideasup, put them on plaster, and
throw them up against the walland see if they stick.
It's called the CongressionalBudget Office.
(28:41):
And uh I do personally believethat this is just a stink tank.
Uh in order to change anythingthey have, Congress is gonna
have to pass a law to change it.
unknown (28:52):
Yeah.
J Basser (28:52):
Because the title, you know.
And in order to get thesepeople to work together, it's
like that's not gonna happen.
Because you've got so muchdivision between these two bunch
of people now, these differentparties, you know, that they're
not gonna get along.
Uh you're gonna see a majorbrawl before you see them pass
something that's effective forveterans.
unknown (29:12):
Yeah.
J Basser (29:13):
It's like uh what's that one country I saw the other
day that uh they got into itand was duping it out in their
commerce.
Well, with the club.
The CBO's A.
It's basically it's all theydo.
I mean, you see it every year,you hear the rumors, yeah,
they're gonna cut you, they'regonna cut, they're gonna tax
you, they're gonna doeverything.
And all of a sudden theseveterans see this, next thing
(29:34):
you know, the line lights up,and everybody's panicking over
nothing.
Jennifer Lohnes (29:38):
Yeah, yeah, that's that's true.
I I had a number of callstoday, so I've been thinking
it's been on my mind.
Speakers (29:44):
Well they discussed it.
Well, but John, they discussedthe fact that they very well may
be jacking up the rates on SMC,which should be interesting
because of the high cost ofcaregivers nowadays.
I can remember days when peopleused to call SMCS the Corvette
(30:06):
payment.
J Basser (30:08):
Corvette payment.
Speakers (30:10):
I don't think you can pay off a Kia right now with uh
with that extra 400 a month.
J Basser (30:15):
130, yeah.
Well, that extra 400 bucks.
I think, well, that might be auh with the inflation, that
might get you a I don't know, uhgroceries for the week?
Electric scooter.
I I don't know.
I mean, if you're feeding,you're feeding a lot of people
like that.
It's $400 a week.
Might be uh it might be alittle bit touchy.
Jennifer Lohnes (30:36):
Yeah.
Yeah.
J Basser (30:37):
You know.
Speakers (30:39):
I've got six here, so remember what they were talking
about taking TDIU and saying,okay, we're putting you on TDIU,
but now you have to give upSocial Security to take TDIU.
Well, I mean, hell are yougonna be at 90% in that
environment plus SocialSecurity, not not go over the
(31:03):
top and then subtract half yourincome.
J Basser (31:06):
They did it to federal employees under the FERS.
Because if you go out on thisbill under FERS, you get 60%
your first two years per salary,regardless if you're a GF1 or
uh SES4.
You know.
And after the second when thesecond year starts, you lose,
you're down to 40%.
And then if you have to file,which you are mandated to file
(31:29):
for Social Security once youleave the federal employment
under first.
And once that happens, they cutyou again when you get Social
Security.
So you barely have enough moneycoming in to be paid to pay the
insurance because the insuranceis very expensive in the
federal service.
You know, you got yourinsurance, your health
insurance, your dental, andthings like that.
It can be very expensive.
(31:49):
So you're lucky to be bringinghome six, seven hundred dollars
a month or or less.
And you get it back when youget a certain age, but during
that time period, you know,you've lost your backside.
So, you know.
So I don't put anything pastthem, but I don't think this is
going to fly with the disabledvest because there's too many
people that uh you know it's asimple card on our part.
(32:10):
And uh, you know, once you uh Idon't think that the voters
would let that happen.
Jennifer Lohnes (32:17):
Yeah.
Speakers (32:20):
Well, I don't think there are very many people that
are satisfied with their incomeless or less names Bezos or
Gates or something like that.
I mean, it's it's the cost ofliving exorbitant.
It it look at 25 years ago, youcould buy a house without your
wife going to work.
You can't do that anymore.
(32:41):
It's kind of a crap as towhether two of you'd even
qualify.
J Basser (32:45):
That's just there was a guy once, Alex that said, I'm
gonna start bottling water andselling to people, they'll buy
it.
People laughed at him.
Speakers (32:58):
Well, I was my first house on PHA loan, the interest
rate was 9.2%.
And I hear people screaming intheir you know, in their beer
about a seven and a quarter.
But it's all relative.
Yeah, it's the cost of thehouse.
(33:21):
That's the problem.
But yeah, it's a deal breaker.
I can remember back in 96,somebody said this, you know,
you have these carbon offsetsthat people have to pay or big
company has to pay in order tospew uh smokestack.
So they got to pay the carboncredits.
(33:42):
Well, that just gets passeddown to us.
Anytime the government startstacking on a tax, and here's the
best one I've heard yet.
If you got a paddle board, oneof them things about six, eight
foot long, like a surfboard inthe state of Washington coming
up here.
I don't care, it doesn't have afive horsepower Evan root on
(34:04):
the back of it.
You got to get that thingregistered for $20 because
you're using waterways, and wegot to inspect it, make sure it
doesn't have any bugs andmuscles on it before you go to
the next water and hole.
Whoever heard of that?
$20 to register your paddleboard?
J Basser (34:23):
Freshwater or salt water?
Speakers (34:25):
Freshwater.
I imagine salt water too.
We're surrounded here.
J Basser (34:31):
Zebra mussels is a big issue, but they started making
them clean off the bath boats,these tournament fishermen, they
go to lake to lake to lake tofish, and the zebra mussels
would be transferred from onelake to the next, and they're
vacation.
Speakers (34:42):
I understand.
We've been dealing withsomething called mill foil ever
since the 70s.
It clogs up lakes.
It's like an algae.
And boy, I've seen guys pullout of a boat, pull out of the
water with their motor up,outboard or whatever, and just
jump hanging off of it and driveoff.
Well, if you dip right backinto the water someplace else,
(35:03):
you've transferred.
I don't care if it hung therefor 10 weeks, dry, it comes back
to life.
It's night there.
You gotta kill every fish in alake in order to kill the
milfoil.
J Basser (35:25):
Well, actually.
In the backwater.
Speakers (35:30):
Well, I firmly hope that we are able to up the money
that we pay to veterans becauseit's slave wages from my
standpoint.
Looking at what somebody getsfor 50, 60, 70 percent, they're
getting 1650 a month.
You can't live off of that.
Very probably you've got tospend a small fortune with an
(35:53):
attorney trying to get socialsecurity on top of that.
Um even then you you're justlike one step above dog food to
for subsistence.
Shouldn't be that way.
J Basser (36:09):
15 years ago, they came out with a uh program or an
idea, and uh this thing died inCongress.
They wanted to give the peoplewith the higher level of special
monthly compensation awardswithin the VA a 25% increase.
Well pretty quick, you know,once the once the money I call
(36:30):
them uh money grubbers once theysee it, you know, they're like,
uh, no way, you know.
Speakers (36:35):
What I'd like to know, Sean, is how do you operate a
wife for $150 extra per month?
That's a shoe bill.
So what's the differencebetween SMCS married and
(36:56):
unmarried?
I I don't buy that work.
J Basser (37:02):
Okay, he pays $136 and so you know.
Speakers (37:08):
Wesley and I were talking uh uh at the table there
in between things, and and hesays, So how many pairs of shoes
did your wife bring?
I said, eight.
I just sit on my suitcase toget it zip shot.
Guest (37:32):
Well, since I was up and come for three days, I only had
six pairs.
Speakers (37:37):
I did it with two.
Guest (37:39):
I stopped off in Atlanta where I am now.
I stopped in Atlanta anddropped off another couple of
suitcases.
I'm gonna be out here for acouple of weeks.
Gotta have choices, you know.
What you're gonna feel likewhen you get up, you know.
Ray Cobb (37:56):
We went out west for the last three weeks.
Traveled through New Mexico andColorado, and we were about
four days before we're supposedto leave.
I looked at Pam and says, Howare we gonna get all this stuff
back?
Then we go buy anothersuitcase, put it on.
Speakers (38:17):
That's what we had to do.
That's what we had to do rightwhen Debbie had uh Amazon
dropping off at the hotel.
Guest (38:27):
You ordered stuff that had it dropped off at the hotel?
Speakers (38:30):
Well, she went to that White House gift shop right
across from the White House.
We took the suitcase with us.
Guest (38:39):
Oh, okay.
J Basser (38:55):
But uh, did y'all learn anything at the Noble
Conference?
Did uh did West did Wesley geta present this year?
Jennifer Lohnes (39:01):
He did.
J Basser (39:03):
Oh, okay.
Oh yeah, yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:09):
He it was a really good presentation he did
with Ben Binder.
Guest (39:14):
That's all right.
J Basser (39:18):
Did Ben show up?
Jennifer Lohnes (39:19):
Yeah, he did.
J Basser (39:20):
Was Ben there too?
Okay.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:22):
He was there, yes.
Yeah.
Good stuff.
J Basser (39:26):
Well, that's good because I'm one of their clients
right now.
We got one going to the we'vegot one going to the next level.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:32):
Oh, do you?
J Basser (39:34):
Yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:34):
You're in the right hands then.
J Basser (39:37):
So, I mean, uh the BVA couldn't read and the C A B C
uh, I think needed glassesbecause it it's right, it's
right on their nose, but theywon't listen to nobody.
Well, I'm gonna be able to wecan get up and argue something
ourselves, you know.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:50):
The CABC denied it?
J Basser (39:53):
Yes.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:54):
Oh, okay.
All right.
So you're taking it.
Okay, so you're taking ithigher.
J Basser (39:59):
Yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:59):
All right.
J Basser (40:00):
I think it always Supreme Court if I have to.
Jennifer Lohnes (40:04):
Right, right.
Well, you're definitely in theright hands.
J Basser (40:09):
Okay.
But uh now got a question foryou now.
When you um What does most ofyour clients help?
Like, how do you get them?
Are they referrals or justcontact you out of the blue?
Jennifer Lohnes (40:24):
Or yeah, it's usually client referrals, just
passing clients to me.
Guest (40:30):
All of mine come through Nova or OGC.
I have not advertised at all,and I have more than I can
handle right now with the styleof living I want to have in my
70s.
You know, I don't want to belike working eight days, eight
days a week.
But yeah, I have I have not uhI started out with a couple of
(40:52):
uh PacTAC clients that werefriends, and then I think I've
had two referrals, buteverything else, they just sort
of I found you on OGC.
I found, you know, so they findme.
Okay.
J Basser (41:03):
Uh do you guys uh do any uh the Facebook groups like
uh Doug Hanges pages?
Jennifer Lohnes (41:09):
I'm on his group, uh, but I don't, I don't,
I'm not sure what the rules arethere, so I I don't I haven't
responded to anything on hisgroup.
J Basser (41:17):
Basically it's cut and dry.
I mean it's uh you know simpleanswers.
Jennifer Lohnes (41:22):
Yeah, but I don't I don't know if I should
be advertising the fact that I'man attorney or just you know
answer questions.
J Basser (41:30):
Just answer the question, you don't have to
choose your name.
And if I see somebody I thinkthat that should go your way,
then I'll push them your way.
That's what I do.
I put I put people in the rightdirection.
unknown (41:40):
Yeah.
J Basser (41:41):
I'm not an agent.
Of course I could have been oneyears ago.
I probably forgot more on thetest than people have learned.
But that's what I do, and uh,you know, I mean I put people in
the right direction for theright people.
Yeah.
Um, you know, we brought Mr.
Ray to Alex there once.
That's what I do.
(42:03):
And uh it's been my battle withthe BA's been uh a long, hard
fought one.
It's like chopping down a uhoak tree with a leatherman tool.
With a leather tool?
A leatherman tool, you know,little fold-up little tools that
got the little knife and sawblades.
Guest (42:20):
Oh the hell oh, okay.
J Basser (42:24):
It takes a while to do that, so but um that's what we
do.
We do we do the show.
We do the show, and you know,we're we're candid and you know,
um, we talk to a lot of goodpeople and uh we have a lot of
you know follow followers andthings like that.
So, you know, you might youmight you possibly you probably
(42:45):
get uh I don't think you'regonna get overwhelmed.
Now, for the old podcast radioshow we did, you probably would
be, you know, but we used to useBorrow Talk and they went
under.
Uh I guess of the Titanic ofbroadcasting, so they went under
and had no survivors, so lostall hands.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:03):
Well, well, I like I I really I enjoy this.
I enjoy helping.
I enjoy helping and doingsomething.
It just this has been a reallygood fit for me.
J Basser (43:21):
So do you have to staff yourself or you I mean you
have to have you have to havesomebody help you?
Jennifer Lohnes (43:26):
No house.
I mean we could just kidding.
It's no no, it's just me.
J Basser (43:31):
Just you.
So you answer the phone, doeverything, building it all.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:34):
No.
J Basser (43:36):
Well, you got time for your kids.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:37):
That's what'd you say?
J Basser (43:39):
I don't think you got time for that, to you the truth,
you know, because you got abusy lifestyle, busy, busy.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:44):
Well, I you know, I do things when I I I
probably work all the time.
So, you know, I I think I meanmost of my clients have my
personal cell phone number, andI, you know, I'm answering calls
and text messages nine, teno'clock at night.
Um, I'm pretty prettyaccessible.
Guest (44:03):
My brother-in-law um told me uh he knew um I I knew when
I retired from the state I wasgonna try to do something with
veterans of law.
Um, but my brother-in-law toldme that he had applied for
accreditation as a as an agent.
And I said, Oh, you you getgood credit?
He said, You can getaccredited.
So I looked into it, that wasthree years ago.
(44:24):
He still hasn't gotten it yet.
And of course, it didn't takelong for me to get mine.
So he knows a lot.
I mean, he's very self-taught,he he he knows a lot, and um, so
he will uh he will um jump inand help me some on some things,
you know, just so I won't getoverwhelmed by the paperwork and
stuff.
J Basser (44:41):
Yeah, it's taking two over two years right now, might
be longer in order to get inthree for him.
But once he does, it takes iteasy takes a couple of weeks to
get results back, and once hedoes, they'll give us cat, you
know, they'll give usinformation stuff to get the
ground running.
Guest (45:00):
And he's just ready to go.
He's got his LLC set up andeverything.
He's just ready to go.
unknown (45:05):
Oh wow.
J Basser (45:06):
It takes a while.
Um we have uh on Doug Haynes'site there, you know, he uh he
he posts.
I mean, this guy's amazing.
Um he's got this uh site calledHow Does How How VA Disability
Works.
You guys ever think that?
Jennifer Lohnes (45:22):
Yeah, yeah.
His his Facebook group and hissite, I mean it's he's he's got
a lot of it's amazing.
J Basser (45:28):
It is, it really is.
Right.
Look him out and uh just jointhe group.
You know, if uh Jim or Doni ispart of it, there's a lot of
folks, you know.
Um but you know, Doug's apretty amazing guy, and that's
another product of this guysitting right here.
Guest (45:49):
Alan?
Oh, you're in everything,aren't you?
Busybody.
Speakers (45:58):
I did all that good work over and had it, and then
they kicked me in the teeth evenafter I got the owner in
attendance.
No good deed goes unpunished,gentlemen.
J Basser (46:11):
I used to be I used to be the second command that had
it.
You know that, Alex?
Speakers (46:16):
I know that.
I tried desperately to help asmany people as I could over
there.
I didn't get a lot ofreferrals, but I didn't hand out
a lot of advice.
And I'm glad to know thatthere's a lot of people who sent
me back emails and said, Thankyou very much for showing me how
to win.
So I know I did good work.
(46:36):
But I'm so busy now, I don'thave time to go on Facebook and
well, I hell, I can't even countthem all, but I belong to Doug
Haynes' group, and then itchanged to another group, and
then five more people said,Would you join my group?
And if I did all that, I coulddo that all day long, and I'd
never ever have any clients.
J Basser (46:58):
Exactly right.
I mean, that's that's I mean,you're looking at the membership
numbers in the groups alone areenormous.
unknown (47:04):
Yeah.
J Basser (47:04):
One website that we were talking about earlier, Alex
only had like 26,000 members onat their max.
Okay.
These Facebook groups arepushing 100,000 plus.
unknown (47:14):
Yeah.
Speakers (47:16):
Well, that's good.
I see all these read it, Reddituh blogs and stuff, and I see
my name being taken in vain onthere.
Like, you need to go see Alex.
Well, the upshot of that, theworst upshot was that all four
guys that were in a Humvee or anMRAP that got blown up in
(47:37):
Afghanistan, all four of themshowed up on my doorstep at the
same time and said, We come as agroup.
Did you give them the AlexGraham package now?
I did.
And I even took the guy whodied on the roof.
His wife hadn't got DIC yet,and I got her her DIC for free,
(47:58):
of course.
Yeah, I got all of them.
I only have one left thatthey're giving him static on his
uh T.
The rest of them I got all theway through to T.
You're getting through.
You're good or done.
My my record's unblemished.
I don't I'm not bragging.
It's just uh I don't lose.
(48:20):
There's one of your buddies inDMC.
I met him at your gig there acouple three years ago.
And I'm gonna get that down.
J Basser (48:35):
It'll quit ringing.
That was a John that came on theshow what a goal, but he got a
phone call.
And when he did, this autofeature on this thing will kick
you off to answer your phone.
Usually put you back in.
So I didn't see his rejoiningclaim.
Maybe that's him calling you.
(48:55):
Possibility.
You know, I mean, you'relooking at uh you get a lot of
people involved, and you know,you don't have so much size of
the screen, you know.
We can uh more people you getit looks like a birdie bunch
right now.
Speakers (49:09):
Well, I'm glad you show 456 little individual
little TV screens of everybodythat's you're watching your
show.
J Basser (49:20):
Pretty bad, yeah.
No.
Um I'm glad to see you guys aredoing well.
And uh um I know you guys areif you're not busy, you're gonna
be.
Um because I don't see nothing,you know, there's nothing
stopping VA claims in thefuture.
Um it's uh especially with theway these regional officers are
(49:43):
denying claims because theappeal process has got to
increase because you tell them,oh yeah, we reduced the backlog
by 41%.
Not telling you that theappeals backlog is something by
how many percent?
41.
Okay.
Speakers (49:56):
You remember Jeannie Bates, Ray?
Yeah.
There I found out finally fromuh Brad Hennings, another former
veterans law judge.
He was talking about thisduring the NOVA conference, and
he says, they got guys who'vebeen waiting, had hearings, and
still waiting for a decision.
(50:18):
And Jeannie, we did her hearingin April of last year.
And I can't dynamite that thingout of the region or the BVA.
It's stuck up there like bubblegum.
I don't know, can't get itloose, can't get a decision on
it.
Ray Cobb (50:36):
Her husband passed away 15 years ago.
Speakers (50:39):
Yeah, 2015.
I know I took it in 2021.
Yeah.
J Basser (50:47):
Yeah, okay.
That's what is it?
The cockroach?
unknown (50:50):
What's that?
Ray Cobb (50:51):
Yeah, Judy Pace was uh was at our conference, and uh
yeah, that's where she metlistened to Matt Alex.
Speakers (50:59):
It's good to agree to take her off.
She slid slid up to me inlunchtime and put her arm
through mine and hauled me inthere to the ravioli and said, I
want to talk to you, Mr.
Graham.
J Basser (51:15):
Outreach is a big thing in this business, okay?
I mean, uh we do a lot of itand we try to get together when
we can.
Um, you know, I mean, Ray hasbeen instrumental uh in just
spreading the word.
I mean, he actually has a uhweekly radio show on uh uh
actual radio station down inWinchester, Tennessee, West
(51:36):
Calvin, Tennessee.
And uh he does a lot of stuff.
He used to be the uh Grand PooBall American Legion down there,
and uh he's done some amazingthings.
And now he's kind of wanting toback off and kind of
semi-retired a little bit, so hedecided to come on and start
doing this and look at the PA Cand Peace.
Jennifer Lohnes (54:08):
Ridiculous.
J Basser (54:09):
What do you guys think about these uh decisions that
these veterans are receiving?
Here's a here's a good one.
Say veteran files for eight toten if Alex, you've seen this.
And the veteran goes to the CMPexam, and the examiner goes
totally in the veteran's favor.
(54:30):
His own personal positionwrites out the form, you know,
puts it out, turns it in.
The veter gets a denial letter,but no actual reason for the
denial.
There's nothing you would tellyou why they denied your claim.
But under favorable findings,yeah, favorable findings.
The veteran requires aidattendance.
(54:50):
You know, I've had a hundred ofthose.
Speakers (54:52):
I'll bet you generally appeal that right to the board.
Jennifer Lohnes (54:58):
They just conceded you need aid in
attendance.
Speakers (55:00):
Yeah, it's open and shut.
Case point, though.
What are we doing here?
Jennifer Lohnes (55:05):
Right.
J Basser (55:06):
We're trying it should go to an HLR first, though,
just in case they can HLR waswilling to overturn it.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:13):
I might go right to the board for that.
Speakers (55:15):
Yeah, I used to do that.
It just sets you back four orsix months from going to the
board.
Why why waste your time?
They don't know what they'redoing at the regional level.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:25):
And with the board, it's what eight, nine,
nine to twelve months for adecision for an HLR.
You're still looking at four tosix months.
J Basser (55:33):
It took me 27 months just to go to a uh DR direct
review the first time.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:38):
Yeah, but they're they they've sped up.
I mean, they're it's about nineto twelve months, I think,
right now, for the direct viewwithout a without an AOD.
J Basser (55:47):
Well, you gotta realize too that back then I
think there was a directive outto get rid of legacy first.
So they were kind of piling allthe legacy stuff.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:55):
Right, right.
J Basser (55:57):
Yeah, okay.
Right.
But yeah, listen, guys.
We're buried to wind down.
Jim, why don't you give yourcontact information?
Maybe if you uh your websiteinformation now, in case the
listeners want to see this, uhyeah, it'll be up forever.
Jennifer Lohnes (56:09):
And uh to email it to you.
J Basser (56:15):
Uh you can email to me or you can say it online.
You can, you know, if you wantto you want to get it out there,
uh, you know, uh just put itout and people will watch this
thing and they'll contact ifthey need you.
Jennifer Lohnes (56:25):
All right.
Well my website is yeah, it'sjust www.lonuslaw.com.
J Basser (56:31):
Okay.
And she's uh driving the truck,folks.
She is loneless law, she's theuh attorney, she's the
secretary, she's the driver.
She I'm serious.
And she buys all the officesupplies, she's office manager,
she does it all.
So Alex had to get some help.
(56:53):
He had to get some staff tohelp him.
He could do something, and uhof course Ray's got a caregiver.
He kind of she helps him out awhole lot.
Jennifer Lohnes (57:00):
And uh uh he is Debbie, right?
J Basser (57:05):
Yeah, Debbie.
Speakers (57:07):
Debbie took over my phone, uh my whole thing with
the phones.
I I it's the only way I can getanything done.
unknown (57:15):
Yeah.
Guest (57:16):
Do you still take the afternoon off to write, Alex?
What's that?
You still take do you stilltake the afternoon off to write?
Speakers (57:23):
I write legal briefs from 12 through to 5 o'clock
usually.
That's a good idea.
I'm trying to take Sundays uhand write a blog as frequently
as I can.
I got 17 blogs I want to write.
I just don't have time to dothem.
J Basser (57:44):
I don't have the hands of it no more, guys.
I used to write all the time,but just the rock and stuff I
can do it, can't do anything.
Barely hold a fishing pole.
Speakers (57:52):
Damn, that that would be a crime.
J Basser (57:57):
I start out throwing them in the water.
Speakers (58:03):
Well, I'd see what I can do to fight with some hands.
J Basser (58:07):
They're a lot easier to throw than a fishing lure.
Well, let's see, guys, we'reabout out of time.
Um tomorrow won't you give hergive you what you got a website?
Guest (58:19):
Yeah, I do.
Uh it's kind of it's um it's uhwww.
uh tomor at Tamar Dyson LegalServices.com.
Tomardyson Legal Services.com.
Yeah.
Somebody else had tomorrowDyson.
Can you believe somebody elsehad Dyson Legal Services?
J Basser (58:38):
Well, they do that, things like that, you know.
I mean, uh website, you know,it's always a crapshoot.
You know, you gotta researchit.
You know, we didn't exposethat.
We had to do a couple this andthat and have a little WordPress
and do stuff.
But yeah, it can it can bequite it can make you pull your
hair out, but you know what?
I don't have a problem.
Oh, you don't, huh?
(58:58):
Well listen, guys, weappreciate you guys for coming
on.
Okay.
Good to meet you guys and anduh welcome to the family, I'll
say.
And uh Ray, thanks always,buddy, as usual.
Jennifer Lohnes (59:14):
Thanks for having us on.
Guest (59:15):
Thank you for having us, yeah.
J Basser (59:18):
Alex, thank you for coming on too, buddy.
We appreciate you.
And uh we'll talk to you guyslater.
We'll see you guys again nextweek.
Guest (59:24):
Everyone, take care.
Bye bye.
All right, bye.
J Basser (59:27):
Bye.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of
Jay Bastard's Exposed VetProductions.
It's a beautiful Thursday, 18thday of September.
The days are getting shorterand the time's going by faster.
Today we've got a treat foryou.
We've got our co-host, Mr.
Ray Cobb.
We got my better hat.
(00:25):
She's hiding behind the screen.
She's a producer.
We got three guests tonight.
First one that doesn't need anintroduction, it's Mr.
Alex Graham.
He's a show regular.
Alex is an accredit appealsagent, not attorney
practitioner.
And uh he is uh one of thespecial monthly compensation
(00:47):
gurus that I've met over theyears.
Then we've got uh Miss Mrs.
Tamar Dyson.
Yes, that's right.
Our main guest tonight is Mrs.
Ginny Lones.
Ginny is an attorney.
She's based out of the DC area.
Uh she's retired military.
(01:08):
And uh just talking to her theother day, and uh it's kind of a
kind of a good story what shedid.
Uh Ginny, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Start us off and tell us a bitabout yourself, uh, you know,
and uh what you do and thingslike that.
Just kind of give us a heads upso we'll you know we're
comfortable with to know what uhwhat you know what you do for
(01:29):
uh for a living.
Jennifer Lohnes (01:30):
Sure, sure.
Well, I mean, I can a littlebit about my service.
I I um I joined when orenlisted when I was 17 years
old.
My parents had to sign thewaiver.
Um to let me in.
I was I got into transportationbecause at the time I wanted
the shortest AIT with thelargest bonus, and that was in
what 2000, 2000, I think.
(01:53):
Anyway, um I got a $6,000 bonusand I ended up being a truck
driver.
So um I did that for a coupleof years until they realized I
was not a great driver, and Ieventually um transitioned on to
be a paralegal and theneventually an attorney in the
JAG court.
So I was in Kosovo in 2004 andIraq in 2009.
(02:14):
Can you guys hear me okay?
unknown (02:18):
All right.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:19):
Um I met my husband at the basic course, the
JAG school in Charlottesville.
Um, he's active duty, he's JAG.
Um we have four kids, and we'reliving right now, currently
near DC.
Five kids.
Got one in college, so he'spretty self-sufficient.
So I I don't count him sincehe's not at home anymore.
J Basser (02:41):
You have one in college.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:43):
One in college.
J Basser (02:44):
Uh I hope he got some scholarships because college is
not cheap.
unknown (02:48):
Yes.
Jennifer Lohnes (02:49):
He's R O T C, so he's getting there.
J Basser (02:52):
Oh, okay.
That's good.
Um that's really good.
Uh being familiar with thatarea.
Um I like the area.
Um, it's a little bit crazy.
Uh I wish they all knew how todrive a little better because I
had to say a lot of them can'tdrive to save their life over
there.
I call that CaptainCrunchville.
I'm serious.
There's wrecks everywhere.
Jennifer Lohnes (03:13):
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
I agree.
J Basser (03:16):
But um now, whatever made you decide to take up VA
law.
Jennifer Lohnes (03:25):
Well, um mostly, you know, I I was I I
retired retired as I retired umfrom the military and um the
kids that we have at home, myoldest is special needs, um and
this allows me to work aroundhis schedule, um, you know, work
(03:46):
around the stuff that I havegoing on, um, and it allows me
to get back.
J Basser (03:52):
Okay.
Okay.
Well, that's a good answer.
I mean, you know, it's alwaysuh uh it's always a good thing
when you can give back.
And uh, you know, you can takecare of veterans and you know,
things like that, which isreally good.
I mean, now uh in yourpractice, I guess uh you start
with the appeals processes anddo you go up to the BVA level or
(04:13):
do you keep going until you goto the CABC or how high do you
go?
I mean, that's a that's a goodquestion we have to ask.
Jennifer Lohnes (04:18):
Yeah, so I've I have a few cases at the Court
of Appeals or at the CABC rightnow, um, but I I usually I like
to stay at the the regionaloffice PVA.
I'm more comfortable there.
J Basser (04:30):
Well, my personal question is he's pretty good.
It's always better.
Speakers (04:37):
Go ahead, Alex.
I just said there's more moneydown below than there is at the
court.
J Basser (04:44):
That's true, too.
That is true too.
But uh, you know, of course,money's not everything, Alex,
you know.
I mean, uh, you know, I runthis show and uh uh I haven't
seen a dime.
Speakers (04:57):
So well, I'm not thinking of it in terms of just
making money, but Jenny, I couldtell by looking at the room
behind her that uh she doesn'tget to sit there for free.
I hit the jack button, I have arich wife, but everybody got
(05:17):
her mirror outs.
J Basser (05:18):
There's two JDs in the house, okay?
Speakers (05:21):
Yeah, well, I just look at the standpoint as I buy
all my independent medicalopinions for my guys, and if I
win 30,000, 40,000, I don't havethe heart to say, hey, you owe
me 2,000 back.
So I give those away.
They need it more than I do.
We don't know when you gottawrite.
(05:42):
We donate a ton of money to uhtunnel the towers and Fisher
House, too.
So Fisher House, they let mywife stay there for almost a
month and a half when theythought I was gonna die back in
2009.
And they generally say only aweek, maybe two in a stretch.
But I just didn't die.
(06:04):
Took me a long time not to die.
J Basser (06:08):
I had to say that's one of the best things that the
VA has got in their facilities,and their grounds in the
fisherhouse.
It is.
Um we've got a beautiful onehere.
I saw it today, as a matter offact, and uh, you know, and what
they do for people and thingslike that, there's kitchens you
can cook and do whatever youwant to do in there, and they're
beautiful buildings.
Speakers (06:25):
And those refrigerators are full of food
all the time.
You don't have to run down thefish.
J Basser (06:32):
Well, you can't do that here, you get run over.
It's called Frauder Lane.
So but uh now you teach classeson special monthly
compensation.
Is this how you met some ofthese folks?
Is this some of your studentsthat you've over over over the
(06:53):
past that uh you taught them?
And because I know you're theguru when it comes to SMC.
You know, you still startedwith Mr.
Potato Head many, many moonsago.
unknown (07:03):
Mr.
Speakers (07:04):
Potato Head was born in 2013 for SMC purposes.
Uh but uh there's a gal namedBetty Jones, she's an agent up
in Chicago, and she keptpestering me day in and day out
after uh uh the pandemic wasover uh and uh saying I've got a
(07:24):
whole bunch of people who wantto learn this.
And finally I said, okay, ifyou can assemble ten at one
time, I'll do it.
Well, she had 10 and another 10lined up behind that, and it
turned out it was another 10behind that.
But I just didn't feel likedrowning the uh the market with
(07:45):
too many people that know how todo it because then it it
cheapens it.
I I I know that CCK is reallygood at it, but they're nobody's
perfect at this.
And I'm not saying that I am,but things change all the time.
And a good example of that isBarry versus McDonough, uh has
(08:08):
opened up quite an avenue for usto go at it and get to N and a
half plus K using SMCP, whichcreates its own opportunity to
reach R1 for a lot of people,much like the people who get to
SMCT via uh 1L for aid andattendance.
(08:30):
So it's it's constantlychanging.
I taught it and now I almosthave to go back and reteach it
with all the new stuff.
We lost John, it looks like.
J Basser (08:44):
I mean, it's a never-inning battle.
You know, I mean, becausethere's always they're always
making changes.
Um get to watch the federalregister like a hop.
Jennifer Lohnes (08:52):
I met Alex.
I reached out to Alex because Ihad a tricky case where I
didn't think I was going to getthe guy past 60 percent, and he
had a number of issues, but Ijust I couldn't figure out how
to get it service connected.
Anyway, um I had posted on aforum that we're both involved
in about a foot drop, and hereached out to me and he goes,
(09:13):
Well, foot drop, are you lookingat lost views?
I was like, What's lost what'slost views?
Anyway, so you know, we endedup um I mean he he's at SMCL
right now.
I'm not sure if we're gonna ifwe're going to go farther with
him, but that's that's how I metAlex and he just completely
changed the way I look at casesnow.
J Basser (09:34):
Thank you.
I mean Alex has helped a lot ofus immensely over the years.
I've been friends with Alex foroh goodness, I'm gonna say
going on 15, 16 years.
Yeah.
You know, and uh so and he'salways been he's been a part of
the show for a long, long time.
Remember back in the day whenhe first started coming on the
show, it was uh kind of innerinfancy, and he taught us more
(09:57):
than we'll ever, you know.
I mean, it'd be hard to payback everything this man's ever
taught me.
Jennifer Lohnes (10:01):
Yeah, yeah, right, right.
I mean, he's he's he's he'scompletely changed the way I
practice and how I approachcases now.
Speakers (10:09):
One thing that I offer everybody that I taught with my
SMC class is John, it's veryimportant is to have ever had a
question about it.
There's the device right there.
Feel free to call me if youdon't understand what you're
doing, because I they paid goodmoney to learn how to do it.
(10:30):
And if they're still confused,then I'm I'm a failure.
I didn't I didn't succeed inteaching them.
Jennifer Lohnes (10:38):
But even before, I will say, and I I
don't know if if Alex, I mean,you might not want to, but but
Alex has been even before I tookthe class, he was available.
Like anytime I had questions,he he he helped me before.
I didn't understand it before Itook his class, but he was
guiding me before I took hisclass.
So I'll I'll always be thankfulto Alex.
J Basser (11:01):
Well that's good.
I mean he's always um you know,you talk about foot drop.
Um, you know, our buddy Rayhere, he's uh uh I think he's
got both his foot drop now anduh he fought that and basically
he had the help of one of Mr.
James Cripps.
He finally used Alex later onto in in in his process to get
(11:22):
his R2, but uh uh that foot dropand that you know, you get that
second L that that's a that's athat's a big deal when it comes
to touching more thancompensation.
Ray Cobb (11:32):
Right.
And it's uh when you talk aboutwhen you talk about foot drop,
one thing that James and Ifigured out several years ago
now, I've had it for eight orten years.
And uh the most important thingis if you put in for foot drop
(11:55):
loss of use at the same time,they're gonna kick you in into
the into a different categorythat yeah, you'll get it, but it
will keep you from getting upto that R2.
Um we both have a friend thatwe know that's been on the show
with us before, John, that thatdid just exactly that, which we
(12:20):
had uh made the suggestion thathe not do that, that he do one,
and then when he wins the firstone, he go after the second one.
Well, he sacall was like, Iwant all my money all at one
time.
And because of that, he endedup, I think, with um I think
he's eight years of not beingable to get to the R2 level.
(12:42):
Now he finally just a few twoor three months ago, finally
reached and was able to get tothat R2.
But not without going through alot of uh additional steps and
jumps and hoops and uh andexams, um, which if he had taken
them one at a time, which Ithink Alex and I even talked
(13:04):
about that years ago, um it'seasier to get one approved and
get it done correctly than toget two approved.
They like to call it bilateraland put you into the P award
instead of uh uh because two L'sput you to the O and the O puts
you to the next level ofstandard aid attendance for
(13:24):
special monthly compensation.
And that's a big deal if you'realready R1 because the next
level is R2.
If you're standard, it puts youto R one.
So if you do it correctly,you're okay, but if you don't do
it correctly, you're gonna havea hard time getting to R1 and
R2.
Speakers (13:45):
Well, it's like it's like uh going up Mount Everest.
It helps to have a Sherpa.
Like I said, trying to trainall these gals here and and and
other people is help, Ray, I'm74 years old.
Well, I'm holding my hand up soit's not shaking.
(14:08):
If I put it down here on thekeyboard, it goes all over the
place.
But that's okay.
I I don't know which one it is,whether it's Parkinson's or
Parkinson's.
I don't care, but I can smellit coming a mile away.
And when I reach the pointwhere things really get bad, I'm
gonna be smart enough and pullthe plug on myself and and just
refer other people.
I'll probably keep myaccreditation just so I have
(14:32):
access to VBMS.
But I'm gonna be handing thesethings out like a poker chips at
a 21 table when I when I reachthat point.
J Basser (14:48):
You know, you guys are you guys are pretty amazing
what you do.
I mean, uh you know you'reshould be the Alex, you don't
have time to turn around.
And you go to this NovaCommerce for a week and come
back, and you probably just youprobably bury it under under
under a bunch of stuff and getback.
Speakers (15:06):
Yeah, I got 10 new powers of attorneys stacked up
here on my desk.
I haven't even written yet.
I like to put them and handthem out uh if I can to pass
them out to other people, and uhhanding them out to about 15
different people.
So I said it's like a like apoker game, you know.
(15:27):
You want another hit?
Daisy, but uh she's a whippet,she belongs to my son.
I'm babysitting there in caseyou're wondering what this head
is popping up down there on thescreen.
J Basser (15:45):
Well Mr.
Doolittle.
Dr.
Doolittle.
No.
But uh Ginny, uh how how howsome of your how some of your
things go as far as client well,are you having pretty success
in getting people connected orat the BBA or the board level?
Because I know we want to tryto keep it at the regional
(16:08):
office as long as possible, butlately I've seen so many crazy
stupid denials based on nothingthat uh I don't know what
they're doing.
It's a mess.
Jennifer Lohnes (16:18):
Yeah, um I actually had a really good one
um higher level review lastweek.
Um it was a request forrevision where we we were able
to get um this guy service anearlier factive date for his
sleep apnea back to 1998.
So life-changing money for him,and it was off of a higher
(16:38):
level review.
So I've I've been um I've beenhaving some pretty good luck at
the regional office, but for themost part, it's going pretty
well at the BBA as well.
Turn the camera off,thankfully.
Otherwise, I'll call West forthose.
J Basser (16:58):
Well, I mean it's what you know, it is what it is.
Um people do have a uh you knowa knack for certain things, but
uh it's good that you can winat the HLR level, and I've seen
a lot of folks win at HLR, andthen I've seen a lot of folks
not win at HLR.
I guess it all depends on uhbecause I know HLRs are
different locations in theregional offices.
(17:19):
You know, you do an HLRs, itgoes to what uh somewhere in
Florida and somewhere else.
So I've got one now, and HLRwould be the second trip for an
agent in this claim that uhbasically rejected by the
regional office because theydidn't want to make the
decision.
I guess they wanted to punt.
That's another issue.
You know, sometimes the ROdidn't want to write a claim,
(17:39):
and uh so I I think I calledthat a BVA deferral.
Jennifer Lohnes (17:43):
Yeah, yeah, I will say most of the SMC claims
that I've had for at least thatsecond aid in attendance have
had to go to the board.
Oh yeah.
So um I've been lucky a fewtimes with at least the first
aid in attendance, buteverything else I've had to take
to the board.
Speakers (18:01):
I just kenny, I just got one day before yesterday,
and it was no Johnny, you onlyget one aid in attendance.
I'm sorry, it won't do acustomer.
It says it run away a decision.
No, you're already getting aidin attendance, dude.
That would be and I got anotherone from the board from uh John
(18:23):
Crowley, and it was justanti-laska.
I'm sorry you can't get therefrom here.
You are you don't qualify forR2, so you can't get to T.
I even have a Mendic IMO sayingthis person is charcoal.
He cannot possibly existoutside of a hospital and
(18:44):
crawling rights.
And besides, there's nothingthere that says he needs to be
institutionalized.
So you're out of here, Jack.
That's headed to the TABC.
I just handed that to Wesleyyesterday.
Jennifer Lohnes (18:58):
Well, that one's tough because I mean,
where what would happen if theydidn't have the caregiver,
right?
Like they it's like they theyrequire that box to be checked
on the 2680, but but oftentimesif you have a caregiver, you're
not you're not going to beinstitutionalized.
Speakers (19:15):
Well, you can always hire visiting angels to fill in
that if you're a single or awidower or something like that.
They didn't have any daughtersthat were willing to do it.
There's there's avenues to doit, just like there's avenues
for a fiduciary, as opposed tohaving the wife or the sister or
somebody do that for you ormom.
J Basser (19:39):
A lot of times the fiduciaries you've got to be
careful because if uh sometimesI've seen the regional office
take uh uh take the veteran'sfiduciary status instead of give
it to the wife or you know,maybe a parent or somebody in
the family, they give it toanother attorney somewhere.
Oh yeah.
In order to ask for uh, youknow, yeah, it's it's it can get
(20:00):
pretty ugly.
Speakers (20:02):
Well, they pay them buck fifty a month to do
nothing, basically.
I'll tell you what the problemis, is I see it, and I've been
talking with quite a few peoplearound me here in this business.
Physical year ends September30th, and the new the new chow
line starts on October 1st.
(20:23):
We're seeing eight wheelbarrowloads of BVA decisions coming
out, and they're all wrong.
Very few of them grantanything.
100 bucks says on October 2ndyou're gonna see a complete
change.
They'll all be granting thembecause they have money again.
The decisions I see come outbetween September 1 and
(20:47):
September 30th almost invariablyall have to be appealed.
Jennifer Lohnes (20:54):
Jenny, I'm wishing I wouldn't take any case
to the board.
Speakers (20:59):
Have you ever got seen a preliminary rating decision
code sheet and uh SMC calculatorcome out on 825, and all of a
sudden on 918 there's a brandnew rating decision, and the old
one disappeared?
Well, I print the old ones andI use them, and I'll go back in
on a supplemental and says, heyguys, you already gave them SMC.
(21:20):
Yes, you can't take it back.
Jennifer Lohnes (21:23):
Right, right.
I I save all my good decisions.
Speakers (21:26):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
The moment I populate, I printthat sucker before it goes
bye-bye.
Jennifer Lohnes (21:35):
Right, right.
How's it going for you, Tamara?
Guest (21:40):
You know, I have a couple of cases Alex gave me that I've
been building up, and one ofthem, as soon as I got the guy
the hundred percent, they, oh mygod, we made a mistake and come
wanted to take it back.
And I had to, well, actually, Isent out an SOS.
Alex responded to one of them,and I got him to um got some
(22:02):
other claims of his, you know,got some new claims, some of the
residuals and stuff included.
And uh this guy had braincancer, and you could see every
screw and every plate right inthe top of his head.
Like if you looked at it, Itook some good, really graphic
pictures.
And I think that um, I thinkthat the people that he started
seeing, they really wanted tohelp him, you know.
(22:22):
And so they did get him, gothim to the 100%, got his chapter
35 back, you know.
But but that was yeah, and thenI had a couple other that
they're trying to take away too.
So I'm still waiting for someof my other ones to just come
through.
Like Alex says, you have tokind of build them.
But what I was wondering iswhen is the time gonna come
where, because I have a new guyand he was denied because he got
(22:44):
it already, right?
Uh, and so I'm working withhim.
But but when is this wholething gonna get to the point
where we can get the Wendy's atthe at the uh regional office?
Alex has been going to theboard for years now, and now we
got a decision in our favor.
How long is that gonna take totrickle down?
I'm pretty new at this, so Idon't know how long that kind of
thing takes.
Jennifer Lohnes (23:05):
As far as Barry, they haven't updated
their regional, have they, Alex?
Guest (23:09):
I don't know.
Speakers (23:13):
For these older guys like 75-ish kind of crew, they
generally come right back andpromulgate them quickly, wrong,
I might add, because they'll getthe effective paint wrong,
they'll get the percentagewrong, they'll lowball you uh
with that 30% for your heart,and then say they won't tell you
(23:35):
even, they'll just say, we'regonna get some exams.
Here's a 30 to hold your placein line, they'll send you out
for a CNP, come back and giveyou the 100, and and finally
grant it back where it'ssupposed to be if you appeal it.
But I can't get anybody to giveme the correct effective data
(23:55):
anymore.
They just don't.
And I think they're likebrowbeating the OIG and saying,
would somebody please fix theM21 so we don't have to suffer
this?
It costs the the client money.
Guest (24:10):
We'd be cost everybody money.
The government, everybody.
Speakers (24:15):
God, it just irks me no end to see this gross
inefficiency because they'reusing AI, OCR, and scanning
everything.
It's all being done bymachines, and machines can't see
the illogic of having anoriginal claim with a 526 in
(24:35):
2015, and you finally grantafter three BVA opinions and
remands, and they say, Yep, yourservice connected.
That service connected is backto 2015, not the day of the CFP
exam.
They just don't.
It doesn't compute because it'sa machine, it's not a human
(24:55):
being.
When I first started in thisbusiness in 1989, I went down
and had a little attitude talkwith my rating officer at the
regional office.
And there was a secretary at afront desk, and I said, Hey, is
John in?
Because I could see his name onmy decision.
She says, Yeah, third thirddesk down on the left, and just
(25:19):
walk back there and sit down.
Hi, John, my name's Alex.
Oh, yeah, I read your file.
I said, Yeah, well, cool.
How come I didn't win?
He says, Well, yeah, you gottahave more mustard on your hot
dog, son.
And he was also the guy thatdid my VA cla uh VA home loan.
(25:40):
He was a man of jack of alltrades.
He later became the regionaloffice uh director, even though
he didn't have a college degree.
That was back before they wereused SES guys.
But he was much more now,everything's locked.
Metal detectors, dogs that biteyou, and everything else.
(26:01):
You cannot get into the vaultwhere the uh Veteran Service
Center is, where the Raidersare.
J Basser (26:08):
That's the Tom Cruise effect, Alex.
Speakers (26:11):
Did you hear the Tom Cruise effect?
No, I'm not familiar with thatone, John, but I have a sneaky
suspicion you're gonna tell meall about it.
J Basser (26:19):
You know, back in the first Jack Reacher movie.
Um Tom Cruise was interviewedby the chief of police there in
the small town.
And, you know, of course, JackReacher was also an investigator
for the Army, and uh uh thepoliceman asked him, Well, we're
the same.
There's no difference betweenyou and I.
So Tom Cruise turned and lookedat the police chief and said,
(26:40):
Yes, there's one difference.
He said, What's that?
He said, The people that Iinvestigate are train killers.
That's the Tom Cruise effect.
Because I used to rotate theseguys around every so often, too.
You know, they'd move theirpositions, you know, it's like
musical chairs in that office.
(27:00):
One would stay around a year ortwo and go to the next place.
And it's kept moving around andaround and around.
And then when they started thisnational work queue and
everybody started grabbing filesoff the computer, then things
changed a little bit.
And as far as the uh screws upin the numbers being messed up
as far as retro and things likethat, it's all a mathematical
equation because their system isnot antiquated to handle the
(27:24):
information going into it, andit's something it's a technical
issue.
Personally, I take the wholesystem and I'd go down to Fort
Bellevore and take it into oneof them little buildings there
where all them geniuses work anduh let them fix it with a uh
and then they bring put it backin play and it worked just fine.
Jennifer Lohnes (27:44):
I don't know if I can ask this, but then what
do you guys think about um thetalk about potentially hinging
uh benefits on income?
Because I what I wonder is justeven that aside, with all the
issues with effective dates andratings, you know, how are you
gonna now throw in veteranincome?
(28:07):
You know, who's gonna becalculating all this out and
what this this particularveteran, you know, should be
getting, right?
Um I think there's been kind ofmessed up.
J Basser (28:19):
Speaking of with a couple of congressional friends
that I have, uh they've got agroup of people who sit in one
building here in DC, have acouple miles from you.
And they got this big basementbuilding, they go in and sit
down and they put a round table,and they got this big wall set
up and they write these ideasup, put them on plaster, and
throw them up against the walland see if they stick.
It's called the CongressionalBudget Office.
(28:41):
And uh I do personally believethat this is just a stink tank.
Uh in order to change anythingthey have, Congress is gonna
have to pass a law to change it.
unknown (28:52):
Yeah.
J Basser (28:52):
Because the title, you know.
And in order to get thesepeople to work together, it's
like that's not gonna happen.
Because you've got so muchdivision between these two bunch
of people now, these differentparties, you know, that they're
not gonna get along.
Uh you're gonna see a majorbrawl before you see them pass
something that's effective forveterans.
unknown (29:12):
Yeah.
J Basser (29:13):
It's like uh what's that one country I saw the other
day that uh they got into itand was duping it out in their
commerce.
Well, with the club.
The CBO's A.
It's basically it's all theydo.
I mean, you see it every year,you hear the rumors, yeah,
they're gonna cut you, they'regonna cut, they're gonna tax
you, they're gonna doeverything.
And all of a sudden theseveterans see this, next thing
(29:34):
you know, the line lights up,and everybody's panicking over
nothing.
Jennifer Lohnes (29:38):
Yeah, yeah, that's that's true.
I I had a number of callstoday, so I've been thinking
it's been on my mind.
Speakers (29:44):
Well they discussed it.
Well, but John, they discussedthe fact that they very well may
be jacking up the rates on SMC,which should be interesting
because of the high cost ofcaregivers nowadays.
I can remember days when peopleused to call SMCS the Corvette
(30:06):
payment.
J Basser (30:08):
Corvette payment.
Speakers (30:10):
I don't think you can pay off a Kia right now with uh
with that extra 400 a month.
J Basser (30:15):
130, yeah.
Well, that extra 400 bucks.
I think, well, that might be auh with the inflation, that
might get you a I don't know, uhgroceries for the week?
Electric scooter.
I I don't know.
I mean, if you're feeding,you're feeding a lot of people
like that.
It's $400 a week.
Might be uh it might be alittle bit touchy.
Jennifer Lohnes (30:36):
Yeah.
Yeah.
J Basser (30:37):
You know.
Speakers (30:39):
I've got six here, so remember what they were talking
about taking TDIU and saying,okay, we're putting you on TDIU,
but now you have to give upSocial Security to take TDIU.
Well, I mean, hell are yougonna be at 90% in that
environment plus SocialSecurity, not not go over the
(31:03):
top and then subtract half yourincome.
J Basser (31:06):
They did it to federal employees under the FERS.
Because if you go out on thisbill under FERS, you get 60%
your first two years per salary,regardless if you're a GF1 or
uh SES4.
You know.
And after the second when thesecond year starts, you lose,
you're down to 40%.
And then if you have to file,which you are mandated to file
(31:29):
for Social Security once youleave the federal employment
under first.
And once that happens, they cutyou again when you get Social
Security.
So you barely have enough moneycoming in to be paid to pay the
insurance because the insuranceis very expensive in the
federal service.
You know, you got yourinsurance, your health
insurance, your dental, andthings like that.
It can be very expensive.
(31:49):
So you're lucky to be bringinghome six, seven hundred dollars
a month or or less.
And you get it back when youget a certain age, but during
that time period, you know,you've lost your backside.
So, you know.
So I don't put anything pastthem, but I don't think this is
going to fly with the disabledvest because there's too many
people that uh you know it's asimple card on our part.
(32:10):
And uh, you know, once you uh Idon't think that the voters
would let that happen.
Jennifer Lohnes (32:17):
Yeah.
Speakers (32:20):
Well, I don't think there are very many people that
are satisfied with their incomeless or less names Bezos or
Gates or something like that.
I mean, it's it's the cost ofliving exorbitant.
It it look at 25 years ago, youcould buy a house without your
wife going to work.
You can't do that anymore.
(32:41):
It's kind of a crap as towhether two of you'd even
qualify.
J Basser (32:45):
That's just there was a guy once, Alex that said, I'm
gonna start bottling water andselling to people, they'll buy
it.
People laughed at him.
Speakers (32:58):
Well, I was my first house on PHA loan, the interest
rate was 9.2%.
And I hear people screaming intheir you know, in their beer
about a seven and a quarter.
But it's all relative.
Yeah, it's the cost of thehouse.
(33:21):
That's the problem.
But yeah, it's a deal breaker.
I can remember back in 96,somebody said this, you know,
you have these carbon offsetsthat people have to pay or big
company has to pay in order tospew uh smokestack.
So they got to pay the carboncredits.
(33:42):
Well, that just gets passeddown to us.
Anytime the government startstacking on a tax, and here's the
best one I've heard yet.
If you got a paddle board, oneof them things about six, eight
foot long, like a surfboard inthe state of Washington coming
up here.
I don't care, it doesn't have afive horsepower Evan root on
(34:04):
the back of it.
You got to get that thingregistered for $20 because
you're using waterways, and wegot to inspect it, make sure it
doesn't have any bugs andmuscles on it before you go to
the next water and hole.
Whoever heard of that?
$20 to register your paddleboard?
J Basser (34:23):
Freshwater or salt water?
Speakers (34:25):
Freshwater.
I imagine salt water too.
We're surrounded here.
J Basser (34:31):
Zebra mussels is a big issue, but they started making
them clean off the bath boats,these tournament fishermen, they
go to lake to lake to lake tofish, and the zebra mussels
would be transferred from onelake to the next, and they're
vacation.
Speakers (34:42):
I understand.
We've been dealing withsomething called mill foil ever
since the 70s.
It clogs up lakes.
It's like an algae.
And boy, I've seen guys pullout of a boat, pull out of the
water with their motor up,outboard or whatever, and just
jump hanging off of it and driveoff.
Well, if you dip right backinto the water someplace else,
(35:03):
you've transferred.
I don't care if it hung therefor 10 weeks, dry, it comes back
to life.
It's night there.
You gotta kill every fish in alake in order to kill the
milfoil.
J Basser (35:25):
Well, actually.
In the backwater.
Speakers (35:30):
Well, I firmly hope that we are able to up the money
that we pay to veterans becauseit's slave wages from my
standpoint.
Looking at what somebody getsfor 50, 60, 70 percent, they're
getting 1650 a month.
You can't live off of that.
Very probably you've got tospend a small fortune with an
(35:53):
attorney trying to get socialsecurity on top of that.
Um even then you you're justlike one step above dog food to
for subsistence.
Shouldn't be that way.
J Basser (36:09):
15 years ago, they came out with a uh program or an
idea, and uh this thing died inCongress.
They wanted to give the peoplewith the higher level of special
monthly compensation awardswithin the VA a 25% increase.
Well pretty quick, you know,once the once the money I call
(36:30):
them uh money grubbers once theysee it, you know, they're like,
uh, no way, you know.
Speakers (36:35):
What I'd like to know, Sean, is how do you operate a
wife for $150 extra per month?
That's a shoe bill.
So what's the differencebetween SMCS married and
(36:56):
unmarried?
I I don't buy that work.
J Basser (37:02):
Okay, he pays $136 and so you know.
Speakers (37:08):
Wesley and I were talking uh uh at the table there
in between things, and and hesays, So how many pairs of shoes
did your wife bring?
I said, eight.
I just sit on my suitcase toget it zip shot.
Guest (37:32):
Well, since I was up and come for three days, I only had
six pairs.
Speakers (37:37):
I did it with two.
Guest (37:39):
I stopped off in Atlanta where I am now.
I stopped in Atlanta anddropped off another couple of
suitcases.
I'm gonna be out here for acouple of weeks.
Gotta have choices, you know.
What you're gonna feel likewhen you get up, you know.
Ray Cobb (37:56):
We went out west for the last three weeks.
Traveled through New Mexico andColorado, and we were about
four days before we're supposedto leave.
I looked at Pam and says, Howare we gonna get all this stuff
back?
Then we go buy anothersuitcase, put it on.
Speakers (38:17):
That's what we had to do.
That's what we had to do rightwhen Debbie had uh Amazon
dropping off at the hotel.
Guest (38:27):
You ordered stuff that had it dropped off at the hotel?
Speakers (38:30):
Well, she went to that White House gift shop right
across from the White House.
We took the suitcase with us.
Guest (38:39):
Oh, okay.
J Basser (38:55):
But uh, did y'all learn anything at the Noble
Conference?
Did uh did West did Wesley geta present this year?
Jennifer Lohnes (39:01):
He did.
J Basser (39:03):
Oh, okay.
Oh yeah, yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:09):
He it was a really good presentation he did
with Ben Binder.
Guest (39:14):
That's all right.
J Basser (39:18):
Did Ben show up?
Jennifer Lohnes (39:19):
Yeah, he did.
J Basser (39:20):
Was Ben there too?
Okay.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:22):
He was there, yes.
Yeah.
Good stuff.
J Basser (39:26):
Well, that's good because I'm one of their clients
right now.
We got one going to the we'vegot one going to the next level.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:32):
Oh, do you?
J Basser (39:34):
Yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:34):
You're in the right hands then.
J Basser (39:37):
So, I mean, uh the BVA couldn't read and the C A B C
uh, I think needed glassesbecause it it's right, it's
right on their nose, but theywon't listen to nobody.
Well, I'm gonna be able to wecan get up and argue something
ourselves, you know.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:50):
The CABC denied it?
J Basser (39:53):
Yes.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:54):
Oh, okay.
All right.
So you're taking it.
Okay, so you're taking ithigher.
J Basser (39:59):
Yeah.
Jennifer Lohnes (39:59):
All right.
J Basser (40:00):
I think it always Supreme Court if I have to.
Jennifer Lohnes (40:04):
Right, right.
Well, you're definitely in theright hands.
J Basser (40:09):
Okay.
But uh now got a question foryou now.
When you um What does most ofyour clients help?
Like, how do you get them?
Are they referrals or justcontact you out of the blue?
Jennifer Lohnes (40:24):
Or yeah, it's usually client referrals, just
passing clients to me.
Guest (40:30):
All of mine come through Nova or OGC.
I have not advertised at all,and I have more than I can
handle right now with the styleof living I want to have in my
70s.
You know, I don't want to belike working eight days, eight
days a week.
But yeah, I have I have not uhI started out with a couple of
(40:52):
uh PacTAC clients that werefriends, and then I think I've
had two referrals, buteverything else, they just sort
of I found you on OGC.
I found, you know, so they findme.
Okay.
J Basser (41:03):
Uh do you guys uh do any uh the Facebook groups like
uh Doug Hanges pages?
Jennifer Lohnes (41:09):
I'm on his group, uh, but I don't, I don't,
I'm not sure what the rules arethere, so I I don't I haven't
responded to anything on hisgroup.
J Basser (41:17):
Basically it's cut and dry.
I mean it's uh you know simpleanswers.
Jennifer Lohnes (41:22):
Yeah, but I don't I don't know if I should
be advertising the fact that I'man attorney or just you know
answer questions.
J Basser (41:30):
Just answer the question, you don't have to
choose your name.
And if I see somebody I thinkthat that should go your way,
then I'll push them your way.
That's what I do.
I put I put people in the rightdirection.
unknown (41:40):
Yeah.
J Basser (41:41):
I'm not an agent.
Of course I could have been oneyears ago.
I probably forgot more on thetest than people have learned.
But that's what I do, and uh,you know, I mean I put people in
the right direction for theright people.
Yeah.
Um, you know, we brought Mr.
Ray to Alex there once.
That's what I do.
(42:03):
And uh it's been my battle withthe BA's been uh a long, hard
fought one.
It's like chopping down a uhoak tree with a leatherman tool.
With a leather tool?
A leatherman tool, you know,little fold-up little tools that
got the little knife and sawblades.
Guest (42:20):
Oh the hell oh, okay.
J Basser (42:24):
It takes a while to do that, so but um that's what we
do.
We do we do the show.
We do the show, and you know,we're we're candid and you know,
um, we talk to a lot of goodpeople and uh we have a lot of
you know follow followers andthings like that.
So, you know, you might youmight you possibly you probably
(42:45):
get uh I don't think you'regonna get overwhelmed.
Now, for the old podcast radioshow we did, you probably would
be, you know, but we used to useBorrow Talk and they went
under.
Uh I guess of the Titanic ofbroadcasting, so they went under
and had no survivors, so lostall hands.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:03):
Well, well, I like I I really I enjoy this.
I enjoy helping.
I enjoy helping and doingsomething.
It just this has been a reallygood fit for me.
J Basser (43:21):
So do you have to staff yourself or you I mean you
have to have you have to havesomebody help you?
Jennifer Lohnes (43:26):
No house.
I mean we could just kidding.
It's no no, it's just me.
J Basser (43:31):
Just you.
So you answer the phone, doeverything, building it all.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:34):
No.
J Basser (43:36):
Well, you got time for your kids.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:37):
That's what'd you say?
J Basser (43:39):
I don't think you got time for that, to you the truth,
you know, because you got abusy lifestyle, busy, busy.
Jennifer Lohnes (43:44):
Well, I you know, I do things when I I I
probably work all the time.
So, you know, I I think I meanmost of my clients have my
personal cell phone number, andI, you know, I'm answering calls
and text messages nine, teno'clock at night.
Um, I'm pretty prettyaccessible.
Guest (44:03):
My brother-in-law um told me uh he knew um I I knew when
I retired from the state I wasgonna try to do something with
veterans of law.
Um, but my brother-in-law toldme that he had applied for
accreditation as a as an agent.
And I said, Oh, you you getgood credit?
He said, You can getaccredited.
So I looked into it, that wasthree years ago.
(44:24):
He still hasn't gotten it yet.
And of course, it didn't takelong for me to get mine.
So he knows a lot.
I mean, he's very self-taught,he he he knows a lot, and um, so
he will uh he will um jump inand help me some on some things,
you know, just so I won't getoverwhelmed by the paperwork and
stuff.
J Basser (44:41):
Yeah, it's taking two over two years right now, might
be longer in order to get inthree for him.
But once he does, it takes iteasy takes a couple of weeks to
get results back, and once hedoes, they'll give us cat, you
know, they'll give usinformation stuff to get the
ground running.
Guest (45:00):
And he's just ready to go.
He's got his LLC set up andeverything.
He's just ready to go.
unknown (45:05):
Oh wow.
J Basser (45:06):
It takes a while.
Um we have uh on Doug Haynes'site there, you know, he uh he
he posts.
I mean, this guy's amazing.
Um he's got this uh site calledHow Does How How VA Disability
Works.
You guys ever think that?
Jennifer Lohnes (45:22):
Yeah, yeah.
His his Facebook group and hissite, I mean it's he's he's got
a lot of it's amazing.
J Basser (45:28):
It is, it really is.
Right.
Look him out and uh just jointhe group.
You know, if uh Jim or Doni ispart of it, there's a lot of
folks, you know.
Um but you know, Doug's apretty amazing guy, and that's
another product of this guysitting right here.
Guest (45:49):
Alan?
Oh, you're in everything,aren't you?
Busybody.
Speakers (45:58):
I did all that good work over and had it, and then
they kicked me in the teeth evenafter I got the owner in
attendance.
No good deed goes unpunished,gentlemen.
J Basser (46:11):
I used to be I used to be the second command that had
it.
You know that, Alex?
Speakers (46:16):
I know that.
I tried desperately to help asmany people as I could over
there.
I didn't get a lot ofreferrals, but I didn't hand out
a lot of advice.
And I'm glad to know thatthere's a lot of people who sent
me back emails and said, Thankyou very much for showing me how
to win.
So I know I did good work.
(46:36):
But I'm so busy now, I don'thave time to go on Facebook and
well, I hell, I can't even countthem all, but I belong to Doug
Haynes' group, and then itchanged to another group, and
then five more people said,Would you join my group?
And if I did all that, I coulddo that all day long, and I'd
never ever have any clients.
J Basser (46:58):
Exactly right.
I mean, that's that's I mean,you're looking at the membership
numbers in the groups alone areenormous.
unknown (47:04):
Yeah.
J Basser (47:04):
One website that we were talking about earlier, Alex
only had like 26,000 members onat their max.
Okay.
These Facebook groups arepushing 100,000 plus.
unknown (47:14):
Yeah.
Speakers (47:16):
Well, that's good.
I see all these read it, Reddituh blogs and stuff, and I see
my name being taken in vain onthere.
Like, you need to go see Alex.
Well, the upshot of that, theworst upshot was that all four
guys that were in a Humvee or anMRAP that got blown up in
(47:37):
Afghanistan, all four of themshowed up on my doorstep at the
same time and said, We come as agroup.
Did you give them the AlexGraham package now?
I did.
And I even took the guy whodied on the roof.
His wife hadn't got DIC yet,and I got her her DIC for free,
(47:58):
of course.
Yeah, I got all of them.
I only have one left thatthey're giving him static on his
uh T.
The rest of them I got all theway through to T.
You're getting through.
You're good or done.
My my record's unblemished.
I don't I'm not bragging.
It's just uh I don't lose.
(48:20):
There's one of your buddies inDMC.
I met him at your gig there acouple three years ago.
And I'm gonna get that down.
J Basser (48:35):
It'll quit ringing.
That was a John that came on theshow what a goal, but he got a
phone call.
And when he did, this autofeature on this thing will kick
you off to answer your phone.
Usually put you back in.
So I didn't see his rejoiningclaim.
Maybe that's him calling you.
(48:55):
Possibility.
You know, I mean, you'relooking at uh you get a lot of
people involved, and you know,you don't have so much size of
the screen, you know.
We can uh more people you getit looks like a birdie bunch
right now.
Speakers (49:09):
Well, I'm glad you show 456 little individual
little TV screens of everybodythat's you're watching your
show.
J Basser (49:20):
Pretty bad, yeah.
No.
Um I'm glad to see you guys aredoing well.
And uh um I know you guys areif you're not busy, you're gonna
be.
Um because I don't see nothing,you know, there's nothing
stopping VA claims in thefuture.
Um it's uh especially with theway these regional officers are
(49:43):
denying claims because theappeal process has got to
increase because you tell them,oh yeah, we reduced the backlog
by 41%.
Not telling you that theappeals backlog is something by
how many percent?
41.
Okay.
Speakers (49:56):
You remember Jeannie Bates, Ray?
Yeah.
There I found out finally fromuh Brad Hennings, another former
veterans law judge.
He was talking about thisduring the NOVA conference, and
he says, they got guys who'vebeen waiting, had hearings, and
still waiting for a decision.
(50:18):
And Jeannie, we did her hearingin April of last year.
And I can't dynamite that thingout of the region or the BVA.
It's stuck up there like bubblegum.
I don't know, can't get itloose, can't get a decision on
it.
Ray Cobb (50:36):
Her husband passed away 15 years ago.
Speakers (50:39):
Yeah, 2015.
I know I took it in 2021.
Yeah.
J Basser (50:47):
Yeah, okay.
That's what is it?
The cockroach?
unknown (50:50):
What's that?
Ray Cobb (50:51):
Yeah, Judy Pace was uh was at our conference, and uh
yeah, that's where she metlistened to Matt Alex.
Speakers (50:59):
It's good to agree to take her off.
She slid slid up to me inlunchtime and put her arm
through mine and hauled me inthere to the ravioli and said, I
want to talk to you, Mr.
Graham.
J Basser (51:15):
Outreach is a big thing in this business, okay?
I mean, uh we do a lot of itand we try to get together when
we can.
Um, you know, I mean, Ray hasbeen instrumental uh in just
spreading the word.
I mean, he actually has a uhweekly radio show on uh uh
actual radio station down inWinchester, Tennessee, West
(51:36):
Calvin, Tennessee.
And uh he does a lot of stuff.
He used to be the uh Grand PooBall American Legion down there,
and uh he's done some amazingthings.
And now he's kind of wanting toback off and kind of
semi-retired a little bit, so hedecided to come on and start
doing this and look at the PA Cand Peace.
Jennifer Lohnes (54:08):
Ridiculous.
J Basser (54:09):
What do you guys think about these uh decisions that
these veterans are receiving?
Here's a here's a good one.
Say veteran files for eight toten if Alex, you've seen this.
And the veteran goes to the CMPexam, and the examiner goes
totally in the veteran's favor.
(54:30):
His own personal positionwrites out the form, you know,
puts it out, turns it in.
The veter gets a denial letter,but no actual reason for the
denial.
There's nothing you would tellyou why they denied your claim.
But under favorable findings,yeah, favorable findings.
The veteran requires aidattendance.
(54:50):
You know, I've had a hundred ofthose.
Speakers (54:52):
I'll bet you generally appeal that right to the board.
Jennifer Lohnes (54:58):
They just conceded you need aid in
attendance.
Speakers (55:00):
Yeah, it's open and shut.
Case point, though.
What are we doing here?
Jennifer Lohnes (55:05):
Right.
J Basser (55:06):
We're trying it should go to an HLR first, though,
just in case they can HLR waswilling to overturn it.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:13):
I might go right to the board for that.
Speakers (55:15):
Yeah, I used to do that.
It just sets you back four orsix months from going to the
board.
Why why waste your time?
They don't know what they'redoing at the regional level.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:25):
And with the board, it's what eight, nine,
nine to twelve months for adecision for an HLR.
You're still looking at four tosix months.
J Basser (55:33):
It took me 27 months just to go to a uh DR direct
review the first time.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:38):
Yeah, but they're they they've sped up.
I mean, they're it's about nineto twelve months, I think,
right now, for the direct viewwithout a without an AOD.
J Basser (55:47):
Well, you gotta realize too that back then I
think there was a directive outto get rid of legacy first.
So they were kind of piling allthe legacy stuff.
Jennifer Lohnes (55:55):
Right, right.
J Basser (55:57):
Yeah, okay.
Right.
But yeah, listen, guys.
We're buried to wind down.
Jim, why don't you give yourcontact information?
Maybe if you uh your websiteinformation now, in case the
listeners want to see this, uhyeah, it'll be up forever.
Jennifer Lohnes (56:09):
And uh to email it to you.
J Basser (56:15):
Uh you can email to me or you can say it online.
You can, you know, if you wantto you want to get it out there,
uh, you know, uh just put itout and people will watch this
thing and they'll contact ifthey need you.
Jennifer Lohnes (56:25):
All right.
Well my website is yeah, it'sjust www.lonuslaw.com.
J Basser (56:31):
Okay.
And she's uh driving the truck,folks.
She is loneless law, she's theuh attorney, she's the
secretary, she's the driver.
She I'm serious.
And she buys all the officesupplies, she's office manager,
she does it all.
So Alex had to get some help.
(56:53):
He had to get some staff tohelp him.
He could do something, and uhof course Ray's got a caregiver.
He kind of she helps him out awhole lot.
Jennifer Lohnes (57:00):
And uh uh he is Debbie, right?
J Basser (57:05):
Yeah, Debbie.
Speakers (57:07):
Debbie took over my phone, uh my whole thing with
the phones.
I I it's the only way I can getanything done.
unknown (57:15):
Yeah.
Guest (57:16):
Do you still take the afternoon off to write, Alex?
What's that?
You still take do you stilltake the afternoon off to write?
Speakers (57:23):
I write legal briefs from 12 through to 5 o'clock
usually.
That's a good idea.
I'm trying to take Sundays uhand write a blog as frequently
as I can.
I got 17 blogs I want to write.
I just don't have time to dothem.
J Basser (57:44):
I don't have the hands of it no more, guys.
I used to write all the time,but just the rock and stuff I
can do it, can't do anything.
Barely hold a fishing pole.
Speakers (57:52):
Damn, that that would be a crime.
J Basser (57:57):
I start out throwing them in the water.
Speakers (58:03):
Well, I'd see what I can do to fight with some hands.
J Basser (58:07):
They're a lot easier to throw than a fishing lure.
Well, let's see, guys, we'reabout out of time.
Um tomorrow won't you give hergive you what you got a website?
Guest (58:19):
Yeah, I do.
Uh it's kind of it's um it's uhwww.
uh tomor at Tamar Dyson LegalServices.com.
Tomardyson Legal Services.com.
Yeah.
Somebody else had tomorrowDyson.
Can you believe somebody elsehad Dyson Legal Services?
J Basser (58:38):
Well, they do that, things like that, you know.
I mean, uh website, you know,it's always a crapshoot.
You know, you gotta researchit.
You know, we didn't exposethat.
We had to do a couple this andthat and have a little WordPress
and do stuff.
But yeah, it can it can bequite it can make you pull your
hair out, but you know what?
I don't have a problem.
Oh, you don't, huh?
(58:58):
Well listen, guys, weappreciate you guys for coming
on.
Okay.
Good to meet you guys and anduh welcome to the family, I'll
say.
And uh Ray, thanks always,buddy, as usual.
Jennifer Lohnes (59:14):
Thanks for having us on.
Guest (59:15):
Thank you for having us, yeah.
J Basser (59:18):
Alex, thank you for coming on too, buddy.
We appreciate you.
And uh we'll talk to you guyslater.
We'll see you guys again nextweek.
Guest (59:24):
Everyone, take care.
Bye bye.
All right, bye.
J Basser (59:27):
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.