He is a 91-year-old World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and served as commander of the Fort Lauderdale chapter of Disabled American Veterans.

John P. Von Schlicher is now being called something else — a thief. That’s what the veterans group he has dedicated the latter years of his life to alleges in a lawsuit.

The nonprofit Disabled American Veterans is accusing him of secretly selling the chapter’s headquarters and pocketing most of the profits.

Von Schlicher said he did nothing wrong in the sale and didn’t make a cent from it. He is still in shock from the allegations leveled against him by a group he treasures, he said.

“It’s criminal what they have done to me,” Von Schlicher said. “I take care of my veterans. I’m proud to be a veteran. I’m not proud of some of the people who are veterans though. . . . [The DAV] is a great organization, but you have some real bastards who are running it.”

A Florida official for the DAV said, though, that when it came to the November 2009 sale of the chapter’s Fort Lauderdale properties, Von Schlicher took care of only himself.

“Mr. Von Schlicher took it upon himself to run that chapter in a dictatorial manner, and when it suited his needs, he forged a corporate resolution and somehow arranged for someone to buy the property,” said Carlos Rainwater, the group’s state inspector general. “He did this on his own, and pocketed the money without the knowledge and authority of anyone else.”

Von Schlicher and the DAV have such radically different accounts of what happened that they don’t even agree on how long he served as the chapter’s commander. The DAV says it was from June 1999 to November 2010, while Von Schlicher said it was for seven years.

The DAV, a national group of 1.2 million members dedicated to improving the lives of injured veterans, alleges Von Schlicher arranged the sale of the chapter’s two properties in the 1100 block of Northeast 13th Street without getting chapter members’ approval. Von Schlicher signed a resolution that he had done so, Rainwater said.

Von Schlicher also failed to get the deal signed off on by the state and national DAV offices, the organization alleges. The properties were sold for $292,000, but the DAV contends they were worth at least $500,000.

The sale made about an $18,000 profit, with Von Schlicher taking $15,500 for “his personal benefit,” the DAV alleges in court filings.

The DAV’s state office sued Von Schlicher last year in Broward Circuit Court, accusing him of theft. The case prompted Von Schlicher to declare bankruptcy. The DAV, in turn, filed paperwork in federal bankruptcy court, seeking a $223,000 judgment against him.

Von Schlicher, who used a wheelchair after breaking his hip recently, said the chapter’s headquarters would have gone into foreclosure long ago if he had not spent money out of his own pocket. He estimated he donated close to $150,000 to keep the chapter alive.

Billie Tarnove, one of Von Schlicher’s attorneys, said they have paperwork to back up her client’s claim that he financially propped up the chapter. However, Rainwater said the DAV has been unable to find any trace of the money Von Schlicher allegedly spent on the chapter.