Sussex County Commissioner Bill Hayden, whose stolen valor scandal prompted demands for his resignation from officials of both parties, was indicted for filing fraudulent tax returns claiming a veteran’s exemption he wasn’t entitled to.
“Our tax system relies on everyone filing a true and accurate tax return,” said Attorney General Matt Platkin. “Fraudulently claiming an exemption reserved for military veterans is something we will not tolerate.
The indictment alleges that he illegally received a $6,000 tax exemption that resulted in his avoiding $382 in state income taxes.
The stolen valor scandal, first reported by the New Jersey Globe in February 2024, detailed Hayden’s representation that he had served as a Navy SEAL and took the veterans’ tax exemption.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request obtained by the New Jersey Globe, the U.S. Navy said they were “unable to identify Mr. Hayden as a member or former member of the U.S. Marine Corps or Marine Corps Reserve. His name does not appear in the SEAL Database.
“William J. Hayden never completed SEAL training, and he is not now, nor was he ever a Navy SEAL or a Navy Underwater Demolition Team member,” a retired Navy SEAL who investigates people who make false claims of military service.
Other statements obtained by the New Jersey Globe state that Hayden had told them he was a Navy SEAL, suggesting that he was involved in the killing of drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar and that he was shot multiple times.
“He told me that he didn’t have a Purple Heart because it was a secret mission, and he doesn’t appear on the Internet because of what he did was a secret,” a former girlfriend said in a statement. “He told me he was afraid of Escobar’s son, so he liked to keep a low profile.”
His stepson said he and his wife “heard Bill mention on numerous occasions his time in the military. He has mentioned on numerous occasions his time in the SEALS.”
Hayden claimed to have been wounded in combat and said he served during the Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu, a onetime friend said.
A veteran who knows Hayden confirmed that the county commissioner told him stories of his exploits as a SEAL team member.
“I have been informed that Bill was never in the Navy or any other armed force of the United States,” the veteran said. “If this is true, he should be ashamed of himself for his stolen valor. If true, the general public should be made aware of these lies, and he should suffer the public shame and humiliation of his wrongdoing.”
The New Jersey Globe is withholding names to protect individuals who came forward from retaliation.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) and the late Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson) had asked Platkin to launch a probe of Sussex County Commissioner Bill Hayden to determine whether he should be prosecuted under New Jersey’s Stolen Valor Act, which makes lying about military service a crime.
Hayden did not seek re-election this year. His term expires on December 31.
Last year, Hayden, an ally of controversial political consultant Bill Winkler, was censured by his fellow county commissioners. On his personal Facebook page, he had posted about white genocide theories, made anti-LGBTQ+ statements, and mocked Holocaust education programs.
He faced specific criticisms from U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield), Gottheimer, and state legislators and county officials in Sussex. Republicans briefly pursed recalling him from office.
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