Schleider Aristhyl, 30, of Warwick, Rhode Island, a military veteran and Department of Homeland Security employee, was arrested and charged with wire fraud and submitting false statements in a mortgage application after allegedly creating two fraudulent Veterans Affairs documents to obtain a $478,000 VA-backed mortgage in October 2024.
According to charging documents, Aristhyl submitted falsified VA paperwork with his mortgage application claiming he had received a 100% disability rating and was receiving over $3,000 monthly in disability benefits. The documents also falsely stated he was exempt from paying a “funding fee” to the VA—a fee typically required of veterans and valued at over $10,000 in his case. Prosecutors allege both documents were fabricated and that Aristhyl had no disability rating and was not receiving any monthly disability benefits from the VA at the time of his application.
Relying on the misrepresentations, a private lender issued the $478,000 mortgage on October 25, 2024. The VA subsequently issued a loan guarantee backing a portion of the mortgage on January 21, 2025.
Aristhyl was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on July 21, 2026. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The false statement charge carries identical penalties.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
