OKLAHOMA CITY – A Norman man has been sentenced to federal prison for fraudulently receiving almost $27,000 in military veterans disability benefit by falsely claiming dependents.
A federal grand jury here returned an 11-count indictment March 19, 2024, charging Gordon Bellamy Jr., 45, with theft of public money, making a false statement, and nine counts of making a false representation of a Social Security number.
Court records show that from March 1, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2024, Bellamy “willfully and knowingly” received thousands of dollars’ worth of disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs to which he was not entitled.
The indictment alleged that Bellamy submitted VA applications for disability benefits with a number of fraudulent dependents, causing his monthly disability award to be falsely inflated. In all, Bellamy illegally received $26,940 from the VA.
Bellamy pleaded guilty Aug. 19, 2024, to Count 2 of the indictment, admitting he knowingly made a bogus statement by submitting an application for VA benefits on which he falsely claimed to be the biological father of a child who was not his.
At the sentencing hearing June 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin sentenced Bellamy to serve 10 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $26,940 in restitution to the VA. The agency has garnished his benefit payments to recover the overpayment, a court document shows.
“Veterans disability benefits are intended to support injured patriots who make incredible sacrifices to defend our country,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “Mr. Bellamy’s false claims are not only criminal, but offensive.”
In announcing his sentence, Goodwin noted Bellamy’s history of financial crimes, including his second federal prosecution for conduct involving dishonesty.
Public records show that Bellamy pleaded guilty in October 2022 in Oklahoma City’s Western District federal court on a charge of computer access fraud; two other charges, wire fraud and aggravated ID theft, were dismissed. He was sentenced to serve 20 months in federal prison in that case.
Bellamy still awaits prosecution in Oklahoma County District Court on a 2022 charge of obtaining property by trick, deception or false representation. A preliminary hearing conference in that case has been continued 10 times, most recently to July 14.