Former VA employee pleads guilty in $6 million fraud

ATLANTA - A former U.S. Veterans Affairs employee accused of participating in a $6 million fraud scheme pleaded guilty to money laundering Tuesday and agreed to cooperate in the case against the alleged mastermind. <br> <br> Ernest Thornton, a former VA program clerk, was one of three people accused in August of resurrecting deceased veterans in computer files and collecting on false disability claims. <br> <br> Thornton, 42, agreed to forfeit funds he received along with purchased items such as a hovercraft, a light aircraft, a motor home, trucks and cars. Thornton also bought a minisubmarine, which he planned resell for a profit, defense lawyer Janice Singer said. <br> <br> Thornton has agreed to work with federal prosecutors in the case against Sarah Prater, a claims examiner and congressional liaison for the VA&#39;s regional office in Atlanta. <br> <br> Prater, 60, of Atlanta was formally indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury. She has pleaded not guilty. <br> <br> Another co-defendant, Kathy Eselhorst, 52, a former VA senior claims examiner from Lilburn, also has agreed to plead guilty and is cooperating, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Nelan said. <br> <br> The government charged nine others in the case in October.