Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena FoundationThe Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, better known as RECA, was revived and expanded this summer — providing renewed financial compensation for people exposed to the Cold War's nuclear legacy.
Some advocates for those affected — uranium miners and people who live downwind of radioactive sites — are warning the potential $100,000 payouts are incentivizing third parties to cash in on victims.
Two years ahead of what could be a final round of applications, allegations of predatory representation and solicitation are on the rise, and especially targeting tribal communities.
'They're all coming out of the woodwork again. This angers me'
President Donald Trump signed the RECA renewal on the Fourth of July as part of his sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Almost immediately, Loretta Anderson, a 67-year-old tribal member from the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, noticed a problem.
"By the 5th, I started getting these calls," she shared, believing some attorneys and companies see RECA as an opportunity to cash in.
The 500,000-acre reservation along I-40 near the town of Grants between Gallup and Albuquerque is home to roughly 4,000 residents. Word spreads fast through her pueblo's six villages. So can solicitors, says Anderson, who is a co-founder of the Southwest Uranium Miners Coalition Post-71.
"They're not only going door-to-door," added Anderson, "but they're also having meetings almost every week, telling the uranium miners, 'As long as you're a miner, you can file a claim,' which is not so. You have to qualify."
A variety of cancers — breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, liver and lung — as well as leukemia, multiple myeloma and lymphomas are among illnesses RECA recipients can receive compensation for.
Depending on their occupation or medical condition, claimants could receive up to $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice — doubling the maximum amount of compensation following the RECA reauthorization.
That's led Anderson to worry more about victims of radiation exposure, who could also fall prey to opportunistic third parties.
"The government and these companies came into our land," Anderson said. "They mined them, made billions of dollars off the uranium and when it was all said and done, they just left — left our people sick, suffering and dying. They're all coming out of the woodwork again. This angers me."
This year marks eight decades since the U.S. detonated its first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site in southern New Mexico's Jornada del Muerto desert. Until now, no one in the Land of Enchantment was allowed to file a downwinder claim.
But as part of the recent expansion, RECA now covers claims there and across all of Idaho and Utah, as well as legacy uranium workers employed through 1990 in Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota and Texas.
Even some residents in Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee are eligible if they cite exposure from Manhattan Project waste sites. They can be awarded $50,000 — while families can receive $25,000 on behalf of a deceased individual.
More than $2.6 billion has been already paid out for nearly 42,000 RECA claims since 1990. Members from 24 tribes account for at least 5,300 of those claims, most of which are linked to the Navajo Nation.
But even the tens of thousands of claims represent an undercount over the decades, according to former nuclear energy industry professional Mike Maxwell, of Drapel, Utah, who sits on the board for the global nonprofit Latter-day Saint Earth Stewardship.
His father, Tim, spent a decade working within the vital statistics office at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, trying to help RECA claimants — churchgoers or not — find paperwork, like residency records, to substantiate their claims.
Despite this "very enormous genealogical archive for anybody and everybody on the planet," as Maxwell described, his dad would still come up short when tracking down documents within tribal communities.
"My dad would be heartbroken many times," Maxwell recalled, "that he just couldn't find the necessary documentation for people that, in his mind, clearly had been harmed, the Navajo community in particular. We've got more people covered than ever by the current bill, but there are still populations that aren't getting support."
For those who are finally eligible, they're now facing the threat of potential fraud.
While so-called RECA scamming doesn't seem to be widespread in Utah, Maxwell felt "anytime there's a pot of federal money going out, there's people opportunistically that will try to scheme and scam it."
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown did not comment when asked.
'We get scams everywhere we go'
With the tribal fair season in full swing this summer, solicitors showed up, speaking to elders there. That included 64-year-old Maggie Billiman, who recently visited rural, western New Mexico.
"It just really bothered me because us seniors, we get scams everywhere we go," said Billiman, who lives across the state line in the northeastern Arizona community of Sawmill. "It's overwhelming. Who do you trust, who do you go to?"
Many Navajos across the sprawling 27,000-square-mile reservation — like herself — struggle with all sorts of cancers they believe are linked to radiation exposure. More than 500 abandoned uranium mines are also located on the Navajo Nation.
Billiman, daughter of a late uranium miner and Navajo Code Talker, is coping with COPD and chronic renal failure or kidney disease — conditions that aren't specifically covered for RECA downwinder compensation.
At the Eastern Navajo Fair in Crowpoint, New Mexico, Billiman recalls being asked to sign up with a national home health care company that offered to submit a RECA claim on her behalf. That all happened in July — a month before the DOJ reopened the free application process.
"I kinda like puzzled, and I said, 'I know a lot about the bill that just passed and I know the applications aren't out yet,'" Billiman remembered from her exchange. "And she looked at me real surprised and she goes, 'We can get your record for you if you'd like, fill it out.' And I said, 'Oh, my god.' I got up out of the chair and she kinda didn't want to talk to me anymore. That was it."
The fair booth was run by UEW — or United Energy Workers Healthcare — which paid $9 million in 2023 to settle allegations of submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Labor through the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
Those workers who've been already awarded RECA payments for uranium mining, milling and ore transportation can prequalify for an additional $50,000 in compensation as well as the payment of medical expenses from the date a claim is filed.
Several requests from KJZZ to UEW went unanswered.
United Energy Workers Healthcare has been named among companies and attorneys in the West on a growing watchlist curated by a working group led by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. Their advocacy has led New Mexico's attorney general to warn consumers to watch out for fraud.
"These companies are seeing this as a payday, and it's just so absolutely obscene. It's pervasive, the scale is unprecedented," said Tina Cordova, co-founder of the nonprofit Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. "There's lots of money to be made. They're going to come out in droves, and that's what's happened."
There are some 836,000 New Mexicans enrolled in Medicaid — a nation-high proportion that's nearly 40% of the state's population.
The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, housed within the Federal Reserve, found in 2022 that nearly a fifth of all New Mexicans carry close to a combined $1 billion in medical debt, or roughly $2,700 per person.
"When someone says there could be an opportunity for some relief in the form of this payment, what do you think is going to happen?" asked Cordova, a cancer survivor herself. "They're going to feel desperate, to think, 'Oh my gosh, I better apply, it looks like it could be difficult. If this company wants 6% or 2% or 10% maybe I should just give that up so that I can get in line.' It's a fraud and there's no two ways about it."
She and others point to downwinders.com, a web domain trademarked by the Florida-incorporated National Cancer Benefits Center, which also owns another benefits management company called Atomic Veterans.
"They've made people believe that they're working with us," alleged Cordova, claiming this organization is cold-calling individuals, targeting them "somehow," perhaps with publicly available records that indicate they might be victims.
National Cancer Benefits Center CEO Kirk Gladwin defended his company and dismissed Cordova's allegations, stressing the organization is in compliance with HIPAA — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — to protect personal data and information.
"We do not solicit, we do not knock on doors, we do not call anybody ever and we never have — unless those people ask us for information," Gladwin told KJZZ. "Don't let anybody tell you that because that's bullsh-t, and I hate to say that, but that — that — that — that I'll draw the line. That makes me angry, because that's not us."
'If this was a scam, we wouldn't be here'
Legal representation is not essential to file a RECA claim since applying can be done for free, but attorneys can be critical to the complicated process. And, the government has set limits on how much an attorney can bill victims.
That payment is supposed to be contingent on securing compensation. Critics allege that some lawyers simply aren't following the rules — with Gladwin even hearing from some of his potential clients being quoted hundreds and thousands of dollars to meet or take a phone call.
Before 2000, attorneys could charge RECA victims up to 10% of their settlement amounts, until Capitol Hill lawmakers capped rates at 2%. Lawyers were earning "too much money," said Gladwin.
But there's a catch, according to Cordova, saying attorneys can reap far more if the initial claim is not successful. Advocates fear it's a loophole that predatory law firms can capitalize on — with attorneys manipulating claims to charge higher fees.
"If they file an unsuccessful claim and then they are able to file a successful claim on your behalf, they can then increase the fee to 10%," she explained. "It incentivizes that, and then, it's three strikes, and you're out. We have been telling everybody, 'Don't sign up with anyone.' This whole thing stinks and I have no reason to believe that they wouldn't intentionally do that."
That means $2,000 in attorney fees could jump to $10,000.
Some health advocates also worry about third-party companies. They accuse the National Cancer Benefits Center of signing victims up as clients, funneling them to lawyers and essentially collecting a finder's fee along the way.
Gladwin expressly stated his company does not offer any legal counsel. Instead, his team provides investigative research and document preparation. But Cordova claims some people she spoke to who were contacted by the center told them to find and turn over their medical records on their own.
"You need to get this document, that document, this document, that document," added Cordova. "And essentially, they're going to get paid for simply helping somebody fill in blanks. This is outrageous."
According to the law, "only qualified attorneys" can be compensated for filing RECA claims — they are the only actors subject to the DOJ's limit on fees. That allows companies to basically charge whatever they want, says RECA attorney Laura Taylor.
"It's almost like there were attorneys lying in wait, you know, for the program to get reinstated, and then poof," said Taylor, whose practice is based in Prescott. "These New Mexico folks were getting hit with weird Facebook messaging and callouts for, 'Hey, I can get this done quickly. I can get you paid fast.'"
She's represented more than 2,000 individuals spanning 1,500 claims, invoicing her mostly elder clients at the capped rate "because at the end of the day, it's not a huge fee and they're willing to pay the 2% for it."
Taylor hasn't heard many concerns about any scamming in Arizona since Mohave County's residents became RECA-eligible.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to comment on the allegations of predatory solicitations raised by advocates but encouraged those who believe they may have been the victim of fraud to file a complaint with her office.
Republican Congressman Eli Crane, whose rural district is home to over a dozen of Arizona's federally recognized tribes, is also aware of the controversy, telling KJZZ in a statement "anyone engaging in scams related to RECA claims should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
"We will remain in contact with the Department of Justice and local leaders on ways to minimize any waste, fraud and abuse," added Crane. "Those who try to prey on the vulnerable represent the worst of society."
Yet concerns abound in New Mexico. Along with parts of the Navajo Nation, the state is home to 19 pueblos as well as the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Jiracalla Apache Nation and Fort Sill Apache Tribe.
Taylor is also among those troubled by the National Cancer Benefits Center, which is planning to open up new offices dotting the Mountain West, including Scottsdale, and a half dozen more in cities across New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Nevada.
Taylor doesn't like how that company "gets away with charging 6%, collecting 4%," adding "it's not fair, and to me, it feels very scammish" — while Gladwin insists the center's collections of higher percentages are not illegal.
"Between us and the attorneys, yeah, it's a little less than 6%. That's where it's going to be, yes, and we're not charging more than that, no," said Gladwin. "I mean, anybody that says there's only one way to do this, and that's it, and everything else is a scam — well, that's just ridiculous. Jesus, this is the Department of Justice we're working with and for 29 years. If this was a scam, we wouldn't be here."
Colorado personal injury attorney Keith Killian, whose Grand Junction-based law firm, Killian, Davis & Richter, has been filing RECA claims since 1993, also takes issue with the center — believing their billing is "not in the spirit of the law."
"How can you say you've complied with the 2% limitation on these cases?" asked Killian. "I had no idea that this organization had the magnitude that it does, and duping attorneys into allowing them to make twice the amount."
He urges states and even U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to step in and take a closer look. KJZZ reached out to the DOJ to see if it was investigating the National Cancer Benefits Center, but the agency didn't respond.
Meanwhile, Anderson says attorneys and companies, like them, continue creating chaos throughout her pueblo, adding "they promise that we will help you, but they're just causing confusion, so I'm pretty upset with this whole scamming business."
'You should not pay a single dollar for someone to help you file'
Still, a handful of no-cost clinics scattered across Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico offer screening, testing and other services, including assistance with filing the proper paperwork to get RECA claims approved. They're federally funded through RESEP — the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program.
Candice Lewis, who is Diné and the RESEP patient navigator at North Country HealthCare in Flagstaff, encourages people who think they're ill to visit and get screened at her clinic.
It's one of only two in Arizona — the other is located in Tuba City.
"The scams were new to me," admitted Lewis, adding "[solicitors] know who [victims] are — their name, they know that they lived in the affected area during a specific timeframe."
"I actually got off the phone earlier today with someone who was from New Mexico, and he shared a little bit of what he was going through," she explained. "It was a hard call, they didn't even state their name. They were just like, 'Hey, RECA has been reinstated, and you qualify. If you say this, this, and this, and this, we'll help you with your claim.'"
But that's her job. So, it upsets her.
Lewis noted that "lawyers have more power and pull than me and it has been a little overwhelming at times, but I'm just like, 'Bear with me, just be patient with us.'" Because if someone lawyers up, her clinic can no longer help them with filing a RECA claim.
The deadline to do so is Dec. 31, 2027.
Navajo Navajo President Buu Nygren doubled down, believing victims shouldn't pay anything "because they've already suffered so much."
"Be careful of scammers out there," Nygren told KJZZ. "You should not pay a single dollar for someone to help you file for the benefits that you deserve. So do not spend any money — or if somebody tells you that they can fill out your paperwork and this is what it's going to cost, don't entertain that."
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNC, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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