What is a “Claim Shark”?

Claim Sharks

How to spot them. Why they persist. How to protect your benefits.

Veterans should never have to pay thousands of dollars to get help with VA disability benefits. Yet a growing number of unaccredited companies—often called “claim sharks”—market directly to Veterans, charge illegal or improper fees, and use tactics designed to confuse or pressure people who are just trying to get the benefits they earned.

This page is designed to be a shareable public resource. If you know a Veteran who is considering paying for “claims coaching,” please share it.

Quick warning: Never pay someone to file your initial VA claim, never share VA.gov credentials, and always verify VA accreditation. If someone promises a guaranteed rating or faster VA decisions, treat it as a red flag.

What is a “Claim Shark”?

A claim shark is an unaccredited individual or company that charges Veterans for VA disability claims assistance while not being recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as an authorized representative.

These companies commonly present themselves as:

  • “claims consultants,” “coaches,” or “strategists”

  • “medical consulting” companies (even when they are not providing medical services)

  • “insiders” who can “fast-track” a rating

Bottom line: if they are giving you strategy about how to file, what to claim, how to appeal, what evidence to submit, how to respond to VA, and they are not VA-accredited, that is a major red flag.

The Biggest Red Flag: They Can’t Access VBMS (So They’re Flying Blind)

A VA-accredited representative can (after you properly appoint them) access the VA’s Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS)—the internal system where the VA stores and reviews many of the documents that decide your claim.

Claim sharks and unaccredited “consultants” cannot access VBMS. That means they may be advising you without seeing what the VA sees. In other words, they’re flying blind.

Without VBMS access, an unaccredited consultant often has no reliable way to review what may already be in your file, including:

  • Personnel records

  • Service treatment records

  • VA medical records

  • C&P exam reports

  • VA medical opinions

  • VA code sheets (diagnostic codes, effective dates, combined rating details)

That matters because strategy choices often depend on what’s already in the record. If someone is advising you based only on what you can upload or describe from memory, they can easily miss key evidence, misunderstand prior findings, choose the wrong path, or waste months heading in the wrong direction.

One simple question that exposes it:
Ask: “Are you VA-accredited, and will you be able to access VBMS after I appoint you?”
If the answer isn’t a clear yes, don’t sign and don’t pay.

How Claim Sharks Operate

Claim sharks may:

  • promise or imply they can guarantee a higher rating

  • claim they can get faster VA decisions

  • charge thousands of dollars, often 5–6× your monthly increase

  • push contracts that are difficult to cancel

  • request access to VA.gov login credentials (a huge risk)

  • use vague terms like “education,” “coaching,” or “strategy” to avoid saying “representation”

Why This Is Illegal (or Improper)

Under federal law and VA rules:

  • Only VA-accredited attorneys, claims agents, and VSO representatives are authorized to assist Veterans as representatives in the VA claims process.

  • Veterans should not be charged for help with an initial claim for disability compensation.

  • Accredited attorneys/agents can charge fees for certain work (often in appeals) under specific rules—fees cannot be structured as “forever payments” or tied improperly to future monthly benefits.

How Do Claim Sharks Exist Anyway?

A lot of Veterans ask the obvious question: If it’s illegal or improper, why are these companies still everywhere?

Here are the main reasons:

  1. They market around the rules. Many claim sharks avoid words like “representation” and instead use “coaching,” “consulting,” or “education,” while still functionally providing claims strategy.

  2. Limited enforcement tools. The VA can issue warning letters and take certain administrative actions, but the practical ability to shut down companies quickly is limited—especially when the business is structured to pivot names, entities, or marketing channels.

  3. Regulatory/legislative gaps. Over time, changes in enforcement mechanisms and penalties have created openings that some companies exploit. This gap is why legislation like the GUARD VA Benefits Act is frequently discussed as a response.

  4. High demand + confusion. The VA system is complex, and desperate/overwhelmed Veterans are easy targets for companies promising certainty and speed.

The Harm to Veterans

Claim sharks can cause real damage:

⚠ Financial exploitation
Veterans may pay $10,000–$20,000+ for help they could have received for free from a VSO—or for regulated fees from an accredited representative.

⚠ Bad advice and long delays
Poorly prepared filings, bad strategy, or the wrong lane choice can slow a claim or weaken an appeal.

⚠ No meaningful recourse
These companies are not accountable to VA accreditation standards. If you are harmed, there is often no regulatory body that can discipline them like the VA can for accredited representatives.

⚠ Privacy/security risk
Any company requesting your VA.gov credentials is putting your identity, benefits, and personal data at risk.

How to Protect Yourself

Use this checklist:

Do

  • Ask: “Are you VA-accredited?”

  • Ask: “Will you have VBMS access after I appoint you?”

  • Verify accreditation in the VA Office of General Counsel database:
    https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp

  • Use a VSO (VFW, DAV, American Legion, etc.) or a VA-accredited attorney/claims agent.

  • Read contracts carefully and get copies of everything.

Don’t

  • Don’t trust anyone offering “strategy” who cannot access VBMS.

  • Never pay someone to help file an initial VA disability claim.

  • Never share VA.gov login credentials with anyone.

  • Be skeptical of anyone promising a guaranteed rating or faster results.

Report suspected scams

  • VA Office of Inspector General

  • Federal Trade Commission

  • VSAFE.gov

What is NOT a “Claim Shark”?

These are legitimate categories of help:

  • Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and their accredited service officers

  • VA-accredited claims agents

  • VA-accredited attorneys

Also: companies or clinicians who provide medical evidence (e.g., nexus letters, DBQs, medical opinions) are not automatically “claim sharks” if they are truly providing medical services.

But if a company is giving you claims strategy (“what to claim,” “how to file,” “how to appeal,” “what evidence to submit,” “how to respond to VA”) without VA accreditation, treat that as a warning sign.

Companies the VA Has Warned

Below is a non-exhaustive list of companies that have received VA warning letters, as published by the War Horse on December 2, 2025, with links to the publicly available letters.

Examples from the list include:

  • VA Claims Insider (TX)

  • Trajector Medical (formerly Vet Comp & Pen) (FL)

  • Veterans Guardian (NC)

  • A-1 VA Ratings

  • Eagle Rising Veteran Consulting

  • Gem Ratings

  • Just4Veterans

  • KMD89 VA Claims Consulting

  • REE Medical

  • Veterans for Veterans LLC
    …and others.

Articles and Further Reading

Here are reputable starting points (the same links you provided, organized and labeled):

Final Word

Don’t let predators profit from your service. There is almost never a good reason to pay thousands of dollars for “claims help,” especially for an initial claim. Free, ethical, accredited assistance exists.

If you’re unsure, slow down, verify credentials, and ask direct questions before signing anything.