BANGOR (AP) — A Maine man has pleaded guilty in federal court to submitting more than 150 fraudulent claims for travel expenses submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Such benefits are reimbursements for expense paid to individuals who must travel to receive VA services.

Court records say 54-year-old Stephen Longstaff of Chelsea submitted the claims between 2009 and 2012 by overstating the distance he was driving between the Togus V.A. Medical Center and locations in Washington and Hancock counties, where he said he lived.

An investigator said Longstaff actually lived close to the medical center and not over 350 miles away, as he claimed recently.

Authorities say Longstaff was paid over $17,000 in travel benefits. He pleaded guilty Wednesday.