Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Fisher House Foundation Receive $13 Million CY PRES Donation from VA Data Theft Litigation Settlement Fund

Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Fisher House Foundation Receive $13 Million CY PRES Donation from VA Data Theft Litigation Settlement Fund

Intrepid Fall Heroes Fund and Fisher House Foundation

04.27.10

NEW YORK, NY - The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Fisher House Foundation today announced that each has received a $6.5 million donation from the VA Data Theft Litigation Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund was created following the resolution of a class action filed after the May 3, 2006 theft of computer equipment from the home of a VA employee. The federal court overseeing this case approved the Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF) and the Fisher House Foundation to be the cy pres recipients of any money left in the Settlement Fund following the distribution of court-approved payments. The $13 million contribution represents the remaining balance in the Settlement Fund following all court-approved payments, including payments to class members, administration costs, and attorneys’ fees. A formal check presentation was made today in New York to IFHF Chairman Arnold Fisher and Fisher House Chairman Kenneth Fisher by attorneys John Murdock and Jeff Goldenberg of Murdock Goldenberg Schneider & Groh, LPA and Doug Rosinski of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. on behalf of the veterans who brought the lawsuit and George Burns, the New York Regional Counsel for the Department of Veterans Affairs.


The donation to the IFHF will be used to fund the construction and outfitting of equipment inside the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), a state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital being constructed on the grounds of the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD outside Washington DC. The center will study and provide world-class rehabilitation services to members of the armed forces dealing with diagnosed cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the signature wounds of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contribution to the Fisher House Foundation will go towards the Foundation’s capital program to fund the construction of additional Fisher Houses at military installations and VA Medical Centers around the country.

“We are forever grateful to our military veterans for their service to our country – and now even more grateful for their generosity,” said Arnold Fisher, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. “The NICoE center will be a world class facility for treating traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, an injury that may not leave visible wounds, but must be treated with serious urgency. This contribution in support of the NICoE center is yet another reminder of how much our veterans have given and continue to give to our great country.”

“Every day, our service men and women risk their lives to protect our freedoms,” said Kenneth Fisher, Chairman and CEO of the Fisher House Foundation. “As a nation, we owe a debt of gratitude to our military veterans that, I fear, we will never be able to pay back. Today’s donation is an incredible symbol of how veterans insist on ‘paying it forward’ to help future generations of those serving in our military. At the Fisher House Foundation, we are truly humbled and grateful for this gift.”

There will be a formal ribbon cutting ceremony for the NICoE in Bethesda, Maryland in June to formally recognize and thank those involved in making these donations possible.













PHOTO (L-R): John Rowan, National President/CEO, Vietnam Veterans of America; Ken Fisher, Chairman, Fisher House Foundation; Arnold Fisher, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; Doug Rosinski, Counsel, OgletreeDeakins; Jeff Goldenberg, Murdock Goldenberg Schneider & Groh, LPA; George Burns, Regional Counsel, Veterans Affairs; John Murdock, Murdock Goldenberg Schneider & Groh, LPA.

Photo credit: Kathy Lloyd Boehm.