When I first started in procurement, I thought stolen valor was a news story or a social media problem. Then a vendor tried to get onto our approved bid list with a copied DD-214. It fell apart when we asked for the certification behind their veteran-owned claim. That was not me being a great investigator. It was the vendor getting sloppy.
I handle procurement at Valor Residential Group. We supply roofing systems, gas fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and other residential building materials through an exterior partner network. I have managed the purchasing side of that operation for six years, tracked every order in a cost system, and built more than one checklist after a close call. If you are asking how to report stolen valor, this is how I would work through it.
First, know what the law actually covers
The main federal rule is the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 704. The Supreme Court struck down the older version in United States v. Alvarez because it went too far—it punished a bare lie even when no one got hurt or defrauded. The 2013 version narrowed that. In general, there has to be an intent to obtain money, property, or some other tangible benefit.
That tangible-benefit question is the whole map. It tells you which agency to contact, which forms to file, and whether this is a federal issue or a platform issue.
Not every false veteran story is a federal crime. Someone who only wants attention may be an ethical problem, not a legal one. But if the lie is used to win a bid, raise donations, sell products, or claim a preference in a procurement process, that is closer to fraud.
Three ways to report stolen valor
The right reporting path depends on what the lie was trying to accomplish. I have seen it break down into three scenarios.
1. The lie is built into a bid or vendor claim
This is the scenario I see most often. A subcontractor sends in a quote and mentions service-disabled veteran-owned status to make the proposal more competitive. If the claim is false, it is not just offensive—it can distort the bidding process.
Start with records, not accusations. Save the bid, the email, the screenshot of the website, and any response you get after asking for proof. Search the current SBA certification directory or your state veteran-owned business database if the claim is being used to get a contracting preference.
- For federal contract work or SBA-certified status, report to the SBA Office of Inspector General hotline: oig.sba.gov/hotline.
- For a VA contract or VA benefit program, report to the VA OIG hotline: va.gov/oig/hotline.
- For state or local work, contact the state attorney general’s office and the agency that issued the bid.
- For a private supplier-diversity program, use that company’s compliance or ethics hotline.
Do not confront the person first. It sounds dramatic, but the evidence matters more than the confrontation. Let the agency that controls the money do its own review.
2. The lie is used to raise donations
Fake veterans’ fundraisers are usually charity fraud rather than a simple stolen valor issue. The tangible benefit is the donations themselves. That gives you a clear reporting path.
Report the fundraiser to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If the story is being used across state lines or through online solicitations, add a report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Your state attorney general also handles charitable registrations, so most state AG websites have an online consumer or charity fraud complaint form.
If the fundraiser is on a donation platform, report it there too. Crowdfunding sites can freeze funds faster than a government agency can investigate, which protects the people who already gave money.
3. The lie is on social media or inside a personal brand
This is the one where I slow down. Some people embellish military service for followers, not for money. That may not meet the federal standard for a stolen valor prosecution. It is still damaging, but I would not label every fake bio as a criminal case.
If the person sells products, coaching, sponsored posts, subscriptions, or anything else using that fake honor, the tangible benefit test is met. Report the account to the platform, then report to the FTC and IC3. If no money is changing hands, the platform is the right venue. Describe it as impersonation or community standards infringement, not as a criminal complaint.
Which reporting path is right for you?
If you are unsure, run a quick filter. Ask yourself what the false claim was supposed to get.
If the benefit came from a government contract, report through the government. If it came from consumer donations, report through the FTC and state attorney general. If it came from selling something online, add IC3 to your list. If it came from nothing more than attention, handle it through the platform.
Prevention is cheaper than reporting
The part people skip is prevention. A fake veteran-owned claim is easier to stop before a contract is signed than after a dispute starts. In the procurement office, that means one extra step: ask for the paperwork that backs up the preference.
A legitimate veteran-owned business will not mind providing an SBA certification, a VA verification notice, or another credential from the program they are claiming. A fake one often disappears after you ask. That has saved us more money than any negotiation trick I know.
I built a checklist after our own close call in 2023. It is not complicated. We ask every vendor who wants a status-based preference for the supporting document, we store the record in our tracking system, and we review the list once a year. That is a cheap insurance policy. It will not catch every lie, but it catches the lazy ones, which is most of them.
Five minutes of verification beats five days of correction. That has been true for every invoice, every contract, and every credential we have ever checked.
And no, I am not a lawyer. This is process guidance from someone who buys building materials and vetting vendors for a living. If you are already in a legal dispute, talk to an attorney. If you are just trying to figure out where to click, report to the agency that controls the benefit—and let them decide what happens next.
The last thing I will say is this: report it even if you did not lose money. I used to think stolen valor reports only mattered when there was financial damage. That is backwards. The next buyer might not catch it. Your report could be the one that builds a pattern, and a pattern is what investigators can actually use.
