An indictment alleges Darlene Toman took $864,380 from 11 disabled veterans and $77,051 from The Kabb Law Firm’s pro bono account, for a combined $941,431, according to cleveland.com’s report on the case. Prosecutors say the alleged thefts occurred from February 2018 through December 2024.
Prosecutors allege Toman wrote checks to herself from veterans’ and the firm’s accounts using a forged signature of firm owner Rachel Kabb-Effron. They also allege she used veterans’ identities to obtain benefits intended largely to cover living expenses. The indictment was unsealed Monday. Toman is charged in U.S. District Court in Cleveland with six counts of bank fraud, six counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft, according to cleveland.com. Court records list no attorneys for Toman.
How the firm handled veterans’ finances
The Kabb Law Firm in Beachwood served as a fiduciary for veterans appointed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs who could not manage their finances because of disabilities or combat-related injuries. The firm established bank accounts and paid expenses such as housing and insurance, cleveland.com reported. Prosecutors said some clients had extensive care needs.
Cleveland.com reported that Toman joined the firm in 2010 and became office manager in 2015. She handled payments and bank accounts for the firm and its clients.
Prosecutors allege Toman spent most of the stolen money on gambling and used some to pay her Spirit Airlines credit card, according to cleveland.com.
The purpose of fiduciary oversight
The VA says its Fiduciary Program is intended to protect beneficiaries who cannot manage their financial affairs because of injury, disease or age-related issues. The agency says onsite reviews help assess fiduciaries’ performance and protect beneficiaries from misuse of funds, alongside field examinations and accounting processes, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Government Accountability Office has noted that some people receiving VA compensation and pension benefits have mental impairments that prevent them from managing their finances, prompting the use and oversight of third parties to help protect those funds, according to the GAO.
Fiduciary accounting and oversight
Federal regulations generally require VA-appointed fiduciaries to maintain a separate financial institution account for each beneficiary and prohibit commingling those funds, subject to specified exceptions, under 38 CFR § 13.200. In a separate review published in February 2025, the VA Office of Inspector General found that the Fiduciary Program failed to conduct oversight activities for 311 beneficiaries because the agency lacked controls to identify some beneficiaries without electronic fiduciary records.
