ONSLOW COUNTY — The Justice Department and the Department of the Navy issued a fraud alert directed towards claimants of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) earlier this week.
READ MORE: Feds streamline settlement process for exposure to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act opened in August of 2022 and will close this August. Claimants so far have reported they have been contacted by illegitimate parties in an attempt to collect money or personal information regarding their claim.
CLJA is a provision of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act. The act was established in August of 2022 and allows veterans to potentially be compensated for injuries caused by exposure to toxic water.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), $6.7 billion will be allotted for the settlements and legal expenses. Settlements will vary from $100,000 to $1 million dollars and be distributed by a tiered system, based heavily on the ability to prove a medical condition is linked to the contamination.
The CLJA covers presumptive conditions from veterans that lived on the base between Aug. 1, 1953 through Dec. 31, 1987. These conditions include adult leukemia, aplastic anemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, and other myelodysplastic syndromes.
So far, only eight people have been compensated, totaling to $2.05 million dollars.
The Justice Department and the Department of the Navy advise potential claimants and their attorneys to keep in mind:
- The Justice Department and the Navy will never request money or payment from you.
- If an attorney is representing you, direct all inquiries to your attorney for verification.
- Authorized emails from the Navy will be sent from CLClaims@us.navy.mil, and you may forward any email message you receive to that address to verify authenticity.
- If you receive a phone call claiming to be from the Camp Lejeune Claims Unit (CLCU) or offering assistance with your claim, and you are uncertain, ask for the person’s name and position, then call the CLCU at (757) 241-6020 to verify.
- If you are represented by an attorney, the Justice Department and Navy will not contact you directly and will only contact you through your attorney.
More information regarding CLJA claims can be found by contacting the CLCU at CLClaims@us.navy.mil or (757) 241-6020 — or by visiting the Navy’s official CLJA website at www.navy.mil/clja.
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