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New Hampshire
New Hampshire vet admits he faked wheelchair use for 20 years, falsely claiming $660,000 in benefits
A veteran from New Hampshire admitted in federal court to faking his need for a wheelchair for 20 years, enabling him to claim more than $660,000 in benefits to which he wasn’t entitled, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Thursday.
Christopher Stultz, 49, of Antrim, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements, and will be sentenced on May 6, according to a Thursday statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire.
Stultz told the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in January 2003 that he wasn’t able to use his feet, which prompted the VA to rate him 100% disabled and increase his monthly benefits. He was also given extra funding to adapt five different vehicles to help a mobility-impaired individual drive, according to his January 4 plea agreement.
From January 2003 through December 2022, he received $662,871.77 in VA benefits he wasn’t entitled to, the statement noted.
Stultz’s deception was revealed after law enforcement officers surveilled him multiple times walking normally without the use of his wheelchair, such as one day in October 2021 when he was seen using a wheelchair within a VA facility. After he left, however, he stood up and lifted his wheelchair into his car. He then drove to a shopping mall where he “walked normally through multiple stores,” the statement noted.
When confronted by law enforcement officials about his mobility, Stultz “admitted that he could use both of his feet and that he knew it was wrong for him to collect extra benefits,” according to the plea agreement. “He also admitted that he did not need the VA-funded vehicles with the special adaptations and that he had sold those vehicles.”
According to the plea agreement, multiple people who knew Stultz since the early 2000s said they had never known him to need a wheelchair or other ambulatory device for mobility.
Stultz’s attorney didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
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New Hampshire
N.H. police chief placed on leave after video released of him grabbing someone by the throat inside police station
Local News
An investigation into the incident is active, officials said.
The Gorham, New Hampshire police chief has been placed on administrative leave following the release of a video showing a physical altercation inside the police station.
In the station’s security footage — acquired by Stephen Gregory, of Berlin, New Hampshire, who sent it to WMUR, the outlet reported — Chief Jimmy Willhoite is seen grabbing a man by the throat and shoving him against a wall.
“Due to the allegations involving our Chief of Police, he has been placed on administrative leave while the allegations are being investigated,” Town Manager Joe Hemings said in a statement to Boston.com. Hemmings denied to comment further on the allegations.
Gregory told WMUR that the recording captures a confrontation between him and Willhoite that escalated when the chief grabbed Gregory by the neck and pushed him against the station wall.
Prior to the incident, Gregory was attending the annual Fourth of July carnival in Gorham with his wife and saw a man who, he says, threatened to stab him about two months earlier.
After the man allegedly yelled at him, Gregory went to the police station to report him — and then the confrontation with Willhoite happened, Gregory told WMUR.
The state’s Department of Justice Public Integrity Unit and NH Police Standard and Training Council is investigating the incident, Hemmings said.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office told Boston.com that it would “neither confirm nor deny any potential New Hampshire Department of Justice Public Integrity Unit matter,” citing state privacy laws.
Town officials said Gregory was arrested that night and charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, though Gregory disputes he was arrested, WMUR reported.
“The safety of our community and the integrity of our law enforcement agencies are top priorities for the Town,” Hemmings said. “We take all allegations of misconduct seriously.”
Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, spoke at the first Jaffrey Amos Fortune Forum of the season on Friday evening about the state of New Hampshire’s forests, conservation efforts and where he’d like to see the state in the next 15 years.
New Hampshire
Missing Berlin Motorcyclist Found Dead After Route 2 Crash: New Hampshire State Police Roundup
06/19/2026 02:16, EAST KINGSTON, BOLDUC, NATHAN RICHARD (22); ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT, 635:1,I (BURGLARY-NIGHT / HOME / WEAPON), 635:1,V (BURGLARY TOOLS-POSSESSION), 637:7 (RECV STOLEN PROP; $1501+), 637:7 (RECV STOLEN PROP; $1501+), 634:2,II (CRIMINAL MISCHIEF).
06/15/2026 19:49, RAYMOND, KETCHEN, DANA CANNEY (63); BROOKLINE, 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 264:25 (CONDUCT AFTER ACCIDENT), 265-A:2,I(B) (DUI; ADULT>.08; MINOR>.02), 172-B:3 (PROTECTIVE CUSTODY-ALCOHOL), 265-A:44 (TRANSPORTING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OR MARIJUANA).
06/15/2026 21:05, GILFORD, SEXTON, JALEN R. (26); ALTON, 263:64,VI (DRIVE AFTER REV/SUS-SUBSQT), 263:64,IV (DRIVE AFTER REVOCATION/SUSPENSION; RECKLESS DRIVING), 263:1,II (LICENSE REQD; OP W/EXPIRED LICENSE W/IN 12 MONTHS OF EXPIRATION), 265:60 (SPEEDING 25 MPH OVER LIMIT OF 55 OR LESS).
06/16/2026 02:40, PORTSMOUTH, LANE, MICHAEL CORY (29); HUBBARDSTON, MA, 631:3 (RECKLESS CONDUCT), 265-A:2,I(A) (DUI-IMPAIRMENT), 265:79,I (RECKLESS OPERATION).
06/16/2026 17:16, GILFORD, COSTARELLI, ROBERT L. (55); EAST BRIDGEWATER, MA, 631:2-B,I(A) (DV; SIMPLE ASSAULT; BODILY INJURY OR PHYSICAL CONTACT), 634:2,III (CRIMINAL MISCHIEF).
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