2 high-ranking VA officials demoted

[nitpicker]

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/11/20/2-high-ranking-va-officials-demoted/76130898/

2 high-ranking VA officials demoted
By Matthew Daly, The Associated Press 6:40 p.m. EST November 20, 2015

WASHINGTON — Two high-ranking officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs were demoted Friday in response to allegations that they manipulated the agency's hiring system for their own gain. The VA said in a statement that Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves were demoted from senior executives — the highest rank for career employees — to general workers within the Veterans Benefits Administration. Rubens was director of the Philadelphia regional office for the VBA, while Graves led the St. Paul, Minnesota, regional office.

The VA's acting inspector general said in a report this fall that Rubens and Graves forced lower-ranking regional managers to accept job transfers against their will. Rubens and Graves then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their pay while reducing their responsibilities. Rubens and Graves refused to testify to Congress earlier this month, telling lawmakers they were asserting their Fifth Amendment rights to protect themselves against self-incrimination.

Before taking the regional jobs, Rubens was a deputy undersecretary at the VA's Washington headquarters, while Graves was director of VBA's 14-state North Atlantic Region. Rubens and Graves kept their salaries of $181,497 and $173,949, respectively, in their new positions, even though they had less responsibility and a lower pay range than their previous positions.
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In addition to naming themselves to vacancies, Rubens and Graves obtained more than $400,000 in questionable moving expenses through a relocation program for VA executives, the IG's report said. The two face possible criminal prosecution.
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