Stolen Valor: Topped off applying for job with city of St. Lucie?

Florida man passes himself off as decorated war veteran to land job, police say
Local10.com
By Peter Burke - Managing Editor
April 4, 2018

Edward Liroff, 46, arrested after real veteran notices discrepancies on form

Among the discrepancies Byrne noted were that the Distinguished Service Medal was only awarded to four U.S. Army soldiers between 1983 and 2013 -- Liroff was not among them -- and that his Silver Star Medal was spelled incorrectly.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - A Florida man who passed himself off as a war hero and applied for a job with the city of Port St. Lucie was arrested after it was discovered that he never served in the military, police said.

Edward Liroff, 46, was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of fraudulently obtaining a Florida driver's license, uttering a forged instrument and unlawful use of uniforms, medals or insignia.
read more here

Stolen Valor--Massachusetts History Teacher Made Up His Own

Mass. teacher admits to lying about military service, Purple Heart awards
FOX 25 News Boston
Updated: Mar 1, 2018

"I made up time in the Army. Over the intervening years I added details as people asked. I am deeply sorrowful for this and did not see a way out," he wrote.

TAUNTON, Mass. – A Taunton teacher whose students thought he was a decorated war hero has been fired after it was discovered he was not telling the truth.

Boston 25 News has learned that when 36-year-old Andrew Gaboury was hired to teach at Coyle Cassidy High School in Taunton four years ago he claimed to be a veteran with two Purple Hearts.

It was a big deal at the school and he was featured in the student newspaper in an article headlined "Gaboury goes from military to history classroom."

"I'm so pleased to have a man like Mr. Gaboury to be on our staff. He had a lot of experiences and was well educated. He even served for our country's military," Principal Kathleen St. Laurent said in that article.
read more here

Australia Vietnam Veterans Tracking Fake Heroes Too

The national will pause to remember those who fought in the Vietnam war. Picture: GLENN FERGUSON

A Vietnam veteran in Australia came across a post on Combat PTSD Wounded Times that went up back in 2014 on Robert William Richardson. He offered this update from ANZMI, a site dedicated to their own Stolen Valor folks. 

I have no way of tracking down what they have on the site, only because time is too limited. Here is the link to what they found. 

As always, check what you are reading and find the sources. I just thought it was good to know that other nations are tracking down their fakes too!

UPDATE from New Jersey on one of our own fakers....

Man arrested for allegedly impersonating a veteran for money

Veterans Services then began looking into Bonet's military history and discovered he was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged at the rank of PV1 from the Army in 1977. The organization also discovered that Bonet had contacted various veterans organizations throughout Bergen and Passaic counties for assistance. The Bergen County Division of Veterans Services sent its findings to Cresskill Detective Charles Franke. 

Honored Vietnam Veteran Speaker May Have Lied

Vietnam veterans claim of 9 Purple Hearts raises questions
Times Free Press
December 31, 2017

"I've got 57 medals," Holloway proudly proclaimed, remarking that some were pinned to his chest by President Lyndon B. Johnson himself.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Times Free Press in November 2016 published a story that included information about Vietnam veteran Stephen D. Holloway, who was speaking at a Veterans Day event in Pikeville, Tenn., and claimed to be the most-decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. Holloway's public claims were challenged by veterans of Vietnam and other conflicts, and the Times Free Press has spent more than a year investigating his military record. To date, Holloway maintains his claims are accurate, though few of his medals and awards have convincing documentation. This is part 1 of a two-day series.

Silver Star. Bronze Star.

Prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Nine Purple Hearts.

Sounds extraordinary, but that's what 69-year-old Vietnam veteran Stephen Douglas Holloway claims.

For three of those claims, the Hixson resident's DD-214 — the official document every military veteran who serves is given when discharged from duty — backs it up.

One of Holloway's multiple DD-214s, anyway.

If Holloway's Purple Heart claims are true, veterans who study military awards, documents and records say, he would be the most decorated service member to serve in the Vietnam War.

But so far, the Times Free Press has been unable to verify any of those claims through military channels, or through Holloway himself.

A fake Purple Heart claim flies in the face of the people who have legitimately received them. 

"There's only one person that's been awarded nine Purple Hearts. His name was [Albert L.] Ireland. He was a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps. And he has officially been awarded nine Purple Hearts. No one else in history has," said Kendrick, who received the Purple Heart four times and has the documents to prove it. read more here

Most decorated American soldier in US Military history

The title of most decorated American soldier probably goes to Robert Lewis Howard, a US Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam War. Howard was born July 11, 1939 and he died at age 70 on December 23, 2009. Robert L. Howard was wounded 14 times while serving over 54 months of combat. He was awarded 8 Purple Hearts, 4 Bronze Stars, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor in three separate cases.

Robert L. Howard enlisted in the US Army at Montgomery, Alabama and retired in the rank of Colonel. read more here

Ten time a hero, Curry T. Haynes
Having recovered from malaria, he was “good to go” a second time and reported back to his unit. With one Purple Heart to his credit, if Haynes was wounded two more times he would earn a trip back to CONUS, the Continental United States. The rule was: Three Purple Hearts earned a soldier the much-sought-after ticket home on the Freedom Bird. Most likely the architects of the “three-strikes-and-you’re-out of the war” rule had meant the policy should be applied to three separate engagements. Hayes earned nine more Purple Hearts in one engagement.

Fake Vietnam Veteran Caught After Claim Paid for PTSD

With so many real Vietnam veterans struggling with PTSD and not wanting to seek help, this guy didn't have it but used it to get money?

He said his aircraft was shot down in Vietnam, and got $71,000 for it. He was lying.

Miami Herald

Josh Magness

December 21, 2017

“In fact, as Jones well knew, he never served in Vietnam; was never assigned to Special Operations in Vietnam, and, was never shot down and rescued by U.S. Marines,” the DA’s office wrote.

William Jones pleaded guilty to lying about his service in the Vietnam War. U.S. Air Force 

William Jones said he wanted help with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

In 2013, Jones, 86, told officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that his disorder stemmed from his service in the Vietnam War, when the AC-130 Spectre gunship he claimed to be on was shot down, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Rock Island, Illinois. 

Jones — who had retired from a decades-long stint in the Reserve and National Guard the year prior — said he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal because of his time in Vietnam.

He wanted disability benefits for that service, but there was just one problem: It was all a lie, according to the DA’s office.
read more here

Man Accused Of Impersonating Wounded Veteran...Again

‘He’s Despicable’: Man Accused Of Impersonating Wounded Veteran
CBS Boston
David Robichaud
October 5, 2017

“This guy wants uniforms so much, we gave him one. An orange uniform.” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

AYER (CBS) – “He’s despicable.” That’s what the Ayer police chief called 27-year-old Kyle Barwan.

Police say Barwan is a con artist who travels the country convincing women he is a disabled veteran, then steals money from them.

“He referenced himself as a disabled vet,” said Ayer Police Chief William Murray. “What he does is he gets into these women’s houses, homes, he takes all their money, and then he moves on.”
read more here

Stolen Valor to Grow Pot?

Oklahoma Vice: Veterans say pot grower lied about service in Iraq

News OK

Brianna Bailey

September 8, 2017

Command Sgt. Maj. Jared Worley of the  Kansas National Guard drove about three hours from Kansas to refute Constuble's claims about his military service at trial.On the witness stand, Worley testified that, Constuble spent less than two months in Iraq before he was found unfit for service and was sent home.

A Bartlesville man who claimed he grew marijuana to treat post traumatic stress disorder has spent much of the past decade lying about his time in Iraq, according to veterans who served with him.

Austin Eugene Constuble, 31,  told Oklahoma Vice he was forced to kill a special-needs child who insurgents strapped with an artillery shell in Iraq. He said he rescued bleeding children from a bombed out school. He also claimed he had been shot at and was injured by a roadside bomb.

None of those things are true.  

A jury in Washington County this week found Constuble guilty of cultivating marijuana at his grandmother's house and recommended a three year prison sentence.  

read more here

Fake Two Tour Vietnam Veteran Nurse--Not So Much

Confession, when I wrote Women Don't Fake it I was actually out to show it was a male thing, but shockingly I discovered a lot more females claiming service than I thought I would. Well, looks like there is yet one more to add to the list.

This Ain't Hell was on a link in this following story. If you want a reminder of how it is so much easier to claim valor, than actually do it, you need to go to this page and read some more stories just like the following. 

Was Banning school trustee a nurse in Vietnam? 
She will resign as some question her claim 
The Press-Enterprise 
By CRAIG SHULTZ 
PUBLISHED: July 24, 2017

Banning school board member Jan Spann said she will be resigning her seat amid questions over her claims she served as a nurse in Vietnam. 

In a May 24, 2015 Facebook post, and later in a newspaper interview, Spann talked about serving two tours in Vietnam as a medevac nurse between 1968 and 1971. 

But a website run by combat veterans printed records showing that Spann was attending classes at Long Beach State at the time and a letter from the National Personnel Records Center states that the organization could not find records of her service. read more here

Women Don't Fake It

Women Don't Fake It As Much
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 9, 2017

Maybe it is because it is so hard for them to do it, women hardly ever fake it. After all, they paid such a higher price for service than males do. Is it that these events are not being reported? Is no one trying to track them down? Or, is it more about the fact that women performing next to men is never worthy of the press covering?

Oh, wait. Did you think this was about faking a great sexual experience? Well, shame on you for being mislead like that. This is about Stolen Valor and females faking their military service. Since it has been happening, but under the radar, I thought it was a good time to bring it up.

There are a lot of reports on males faking it. In May there was John Hemphill  "He claimed to have served our country for 22 years until a FOX6 investigation exposed him as a liar."

There are a lot of things folks just assume. If a male veteran says they have PTSD, it is assumed they have it because of combat. If a female veteran says they have PTSD, well it is assumed it is because of some kind of sexual trauma. Why is that? Is it because people forget that women are in the field just like their "brothers" are?

Well, their "brothers" get assaulted too but females are just talked about more. It seems as if everything involving women in the military is less talked about than males in the military.

This morning I was thinking about a Stolen Valor article I read and then I tried to remember reading about many women being accused of faking service. So, not being able to just let it go and enjoy my vacation from work, I did a search. 

2015 Christina Chrissy Axtman Lies About Killing Female Bomber And Bronze Star

We were sent an article from the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Press paper from November 10th 2013. In this article they interviewed what they believed to be an Iraqi War Veteran, and Wounded Warrior, Christina “Chrissy” Axtman.

As I began to read the story, red flags started flying. The person that emailed me said that Christina was telling everyone her story, and how she had earned the Bronze Star for Valor while deployed with the 173rd Airborne to Iraq in 2007. Notice the paper calls it a Division not a Brigade, although they operate as a Division they are not. I am not sure if this was her statement or just a mistake by the editor.

Not only that, but according to the 173rd’s Deployment history, in 2006 the Brigade was notified for a second tour of duty in Iraq from 2007 to 2008, but its deployment plan was changed to Afghanistan in February 2007 when the Pentagon announced that it would relieve the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division along with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. In the spring of 2007, the 173rd again deployed to Afghanistan, as Task Force Bayonet, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF 07–09). So the 173rd was not even in Iraq for the time frame she claims she was with them.

2014

Stolen Valor


Yet, it wasn't 16 years of service but it was 16 days!

We've seen videos of Stolen Valor before — people impersonating someone who they are not while in a military uniform. Parrish Alleman of CBS-affiliate WIAT 42 in Birmingham, Alabama, launched a five-month investigation after receiving tips that a military member she had interviewed was a fake. It turns out after a lot of investigative reporting that Julee Johns had only served 16 days — not the 16 years she initially claimed.

2015
Female Busted In Tuscaloosa Alabama Posing As A Soldier Home From Deployment


Pretty much you must have guessed there are very few women pretending to be something they are not. After all, women can't claim to be Navy SEALs or Green Berets easily. While women have been recipients of every military award, including the Medal of Honor, they are not usually thought of as heroic.

Medal of Honor? Yep, knew I'd get you on that one. There was a Doctor during the Civil War and she was also a POW. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker not only received the Medal of Honor, she refused to give it back with Congress tried to take it from her.

So when do we stop taking honor from other women and stop assuming stuff that just isn't true or connecting stuff to their sexuality instead of their courage?

Guardian of Valor Started After American Idol Faker Took The Stage

Meet the country's most prominent "stolen valor" detective
CBS News
June 14, 2017

"It's just too great for some people. They would rather impersonate instead of actually go raise their hand and serve their country." Anthony Anderson

In 2013 "American Idol" featured a contestant with a sympathetic story.

"We were on a mission in Ramadi, Iraq, and we came across an IED, and the IED exploded," Matt Farmer said on "American Idol." Farmer served in Iraq, but was never injured in battle and later admitted "it was all lies" in a letter to the website, Guardian of Valor.

"When we outed the guy from 'American Idol', that pretty much started this whole thing," Guardian of Valor founder Anthony Anderson said.

Anderson may be the country's most prominent "stolen valor" detective. "Stolen valor" is a term applied to those who falsely claim military service, either to gain recognition or, in some cases, money. It's offensive for many Americans to think of, but it's real, and because the government often doesn't have the resources or time to investigate, private citizens pick up the slack, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.

From his South Carolina basement, Anderson works day and night separating military fact from fiction.

"We've had family members turn their own family members in. It's crazy sometimes. I've had sons turn their dads in. I've had dads turn their sons in. It's wild," Anderson said.

The website features a "Hall of Shame" and links to video confrontations.
read more here

There is another fake hunter and this is one from last year from Don Shipley

Another Phony With Veteran's Charity Busted by Good Guys

Earlier today my buddy Gunny (not the guy in the following article) told me about a guy claiming to be a "highly decorated Marine." As usual, I went to This Ain't Hell, and found the link to MilitaryPhony.com

You really need to read the rest for yourself, so check out the link.

"For some reason he rocketed from E-2 all the way to E-1 and was sent to discover his land legs again." Military Phony wrote after a lengthy wait for this guys records.

This is what really got me,,,,

During the time we have been waiting on his records we have had multiple reports of him claiming to suffer from the PTSD.

We have no idea what causes him to suffer from such a thing, but we know strange things can happen in Fan Rooms aboard ships. Maybe something went bump in the night…we may never know. 

In summary, his FOIA response has no Navy Cross, Silver Star, NMCM(equivalent to a Silver Star for heroism while not directly engaged with the enemy), Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal or any other award with the exception of the National Defense Service Medal.   

According to his records he was on the opposite side of the planet during Vietnam. No RECON assignments or training of any kind. His records show he was most certainly not a United States Marine of any rank. 

San Antonio Man Found Guilty of Defrauding Department of Veterans Affairs

Man guilty of defrauding Dept. of Veteran Affairs Disability Compensation Program

Mack Cole Jr., 54, faces 50 years in federal prison

KSAT News

By Dawn Jorgenson - Web - News Editor

Posted: 6:30 PM, June 14, 2017

SAN ANTONIO - A San Antonio man is facing federal prison time after a jury found him guilty Wednesday afternoon of scheming to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Compensation Program.

The Department of Justice said Mack Cole Jr., 54, injured his lower back in a stateside training accident in 2004 prior to being deployed with the Kansas Army National Guard to Kosovo.

Cole was granted military retirement and later deemed eligible for monthly benefits as a retired disabled veteran, the DOJ said, but misrepresented the severity of his injuries in order to collect a higher level of benefits, adaptations to his residence and extensive durable medical equipment.

read more here

Veteran Going to Jail After Lying Way to Awards

Former soldier who lied his way to Purple Heart sentenced to three years in prison, ordered to repay $650,000 in stolen benefits
Associated Press 
June 2, 2017

SEATTLE - A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former soldier who lied his way to a Purple Heart to three years in prison and ordered him to repay nearly $650,000 in stolen government benefits.

Former National Guard soldier Darryl Lee Wright leaves a courtroom at the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., last year. (GENE JOHNSON/AP)

Darryl Wright, 48, a former Idaho National Guardsman, feigned injuries from an explosion in Iraq in 2005 and doctored statements from fellow soldiers to obtain two awards, a Combat Action Badge and a Purple Heart, which is reserved for those wounded in action.

The Army has since revoked the awards, though Wright still has the medals.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud last year. Prosecutors were seeking a prison term of five years, and they wanted the judge to order Wright to return the medals and a Purple Heart license plate.
read more here

Stolen Valor Perpetrators Found Guilty and Despicable!

Army veteran sentenced for lying to get nearly $395K from VA
News4Jax
By Jodi Mohrmann - Managing Editor of special projects
May 02, 2017

Florida woman claimed she lost her vision due to her military service

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Florida veteran is sentenced to federal prison for lying for years about being blind and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sixty-year-old Veronica Dale Hahn of Bonifay, Florida, received nearly $395,000 from VA for 100 percent service-connected blindness in both eyes. Over 15 years -- from 2001 to 2016 -- the Army veteran told doctors she was almost completely blind.

However, within a year of receiving her disability benefits for loss of vision, investigators say Hahn got driver’s licenses with no vision restrictions in New Mexico, Alabama, and Florida -- passing vision exams in all three states with at least 20/40 vision.

During this time, Hahn was observed driving her personal vehicle on numerous occasions and she worked full time as a case manager and transition counselor at several state correctional facilities. All of these activities required normal eyesight to perform her duties.

“Instead of providing benefits and assistance to worthy veterans who are justifiably in need, significant resources from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs were diverted to uncover an extensive and persistent fraud by Ms. Hahn, who repeatedly gave dishonest information and collected hundreds of thousands of dollars to which she was not entitled," said Christopher Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. This case sends the message that you cannot make false disability claims and just walk away from such a crime.”
read more here

Purple Heart faker gets VA benefits, free house by stealing another Marine's combat story
San Diego Union Tribune
Jeanette Steele Jeanette SteeleContact Reporter
May 2, 2017

“This scumbag lied to try to get s—t. You don’t do that. It’s not honorable. It’s not how we are. It’s personal for me, especially, as a friend of Casey’s,” said Andrew Rothman, a 1/7 Navy corpsman who was a key player in exposing Blackstone’s fraud.

A former Southern California Marine has been handed a 21-month federal sentence for faking a Purple Heart and lifting from another Marine's combat story to get years of disability benefits and a free house.

In a rare prosecution under the 2013 Stolen Valor Act, a 35-year-old Iraq War veteran will also have to pay back more than $300,000 to the U.S. government and a Texas charity.

Brandon Blackstone served with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment out of Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert in 2004. He deployed to Iraq in August, during a period of fierce fighting on the Syrian border.

So did Casey Owens, another 1/7 Marine.
read more here

Former officer found guilty in Purple Heart case
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Raisa Habersham
May 2, 2017

A former Holly Springs police officer was found guilty Tuesday of falsely claiming he was a Purple Heart recipient four years after an investigation showed he lied about his military affiliation.

Shane Ladner of Canton was accused of claiming he earned the medal awarded for combat wounds and using the alleged honor to receive free license plates.

After five days of testimony and 13 hours of deliberation, the jury convicted him of five counts of making false statements to the Cherokee County sheriff’s office and the county’s tax commissioner to get the license plates. He was also convicted of a theft by taking charge.
read more here

Colden couple admit $1.2 million fraud against VA, Postal Service
Buffalo News
By Phil Fairbanks
Published Wed, Mar 22, 2017

Richard L. Klaffka posed as a severely disabled veteran and postal worker.

He also pretended to be in a wheelchair, unable to walk, drive or care for himself.

Klaffka and his wife, Cathleen, both residents of Colden, admitted Wednesday it was all a hoax.

They also admitted netting $1.2 million in fraudulent benefits as part of their 10-year scheme.

'The defendant knew he wasn't 100 percent disabled and, in fact, knew he was mobile, able to care for himself without assistance," Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno told the federal court Wednesday.

As part of his guilty plea to wire fraud, Klaffka agreed to pay $1.2 million in restitution and on Wednesday made an initial payment of $325,000. He also agreed to forfeit property he and his wife own in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

With Klaffka, who walks with a cane, standing just a few feet away, Bonanno read from a laundry list of evidence against him, including surveillance of his comings and goings at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Buffalo.

Federal agents claim they saw Klaffka drive to the VA, get out of the car and then lift and open his wheelchair without help. They said his wife would then push him into the offices at the medical center.

Bonnano said the government also had witnesses, including neighbors who were prepared to testify that they saw Klaffka hunting, riding a bicycle, chopping wood and playing horseshoes.
read more here

Stolen Valor: Brandon Blackstone Goes to Prison

Ex-Marine from Arlington gets prison for lying about an Iraq war injury to make money
Dallas Morning News
Kevin Krause, Federal Courts Reporter
April 21, 2017

A federal judge on Friday called Brandon Blackstone's actions in faking a war injury to profit financially "shameful, shameful conduct" before sentencing him to 21 months in prison.

Blackstone, 35, a former U.S. Marine from Arlington, also will have to pay the Veterans Affairs department $322,654 in restitution for monthly disability payments he received from November 2006 to December 2015, according to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn.

He also lied about receiving a Purple Heart and used the fake story to obtain a free house from a veteran's charity.

The Blackstone scheme is the latest in an increasing number of stolen valor cases. Experts say it's rare, however, for veterans who actually served in combat to lie about their wartime experiences for financial or other gain.

And the case achieved some notoriety due to Blackstone's multiple media appearances in which he gave details on camera of being blown up in Iraq by a land mine that were strikingly similar to that of fellow Marine, Casey Owens. In fact, Blackstone left Iraq after a month for a non-combat medical issue and never returned.

Owens, a Houston native, was critically injured and lost his legs when his Humvee hit an anti-tank mine in 2004 in western Iraq, on the Syrian border. He killed himself in 2014 after a decade of suffering from numerous surgeries, brain injury and severe pain.
read more here

“Homeless Vet Anything Helps God Bless!” But He DIdn't Serve

Police find crack pipe on panhandler faking veteran status
Dayton Daily News
Will Garbe Staff Writer
Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016

Dayton police arrested a panhandler falsely claiming to be a veteran, before authorities discovered a crack pipe during the man’s jail booking, according to a police report.

Police said the 41-year-old panhandler, Janon Price, held a sign reading “Homeless Vet Anything Helps God Bless!” before his arrest Tuesday on the 900 block of Wayne Ave.

“I asked him if he had prior service in any branch of the military,” wrote the Dayton officer. “Mr. Price stated that he did not serve in the military.”
read more here

Stolen Valor Fake Navy SEAL William Burley Gets 3 Years

Fake Navy SEAL gets three years in prison for defrauding charity
Chicago Tribune
Robert McCoppin
December 19, 2016

After officials with the nonprofit became suspicious, they said they contacted Don Shipley, well-known for exposing SEAL impersonators, who confronted Burley about discrepancies in his background, and IAS cut ties with him.

A man who pretended to be a U.S. Navy SEAL who could rescue kidnapped workers for a Chicago aid agency was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, prosecutors said.

William Burley, 36, formerly of Yucaipa, Calif., was ordered to pay full restitution of $32,454 to International Aid Services America, or IAS, a nonprofit Christian aid group that provides clean water in Africa, authorities said.

The president of the board of the aid agency, Jonathan Wildt, welcomed the ruling as "fair."

"We're just glad to see the justice process work appropriately, and glad for that outcome," he said.
read more here

Don Shipley's Phony Navy SEAL of the WEEK William James Burley. Fake Fraud Phony Military Impostor

Fake Army Veteran Busted For Taking Donations

Phony veteran arrested for soliciting donations
By NBC News
Published: December 8, 2016

NORTH MYERS, FL (WPTV) A homeless man arrested more than 70 times is in trouble again, this time for impersonating a veteran in order to solicit donations at a North Fort Myers, Florida shopping center.

When deputies arrived at Weavers Corner shopping plaza, they found 57-year-old Jeffrey Prince wearing a full Army uniform, with a cardboard sign asking for help. Witnesses at the shopping center told deputies that Prince claimed to be a homeless veteran and needed assistance.

Authorities asked if Prince had ever been a member of any branch of the military, Prince told them he served in the army in Texas, but would not provide his years of service.
read more here

Stolen Valor Texas Marine Pleads Guilty

Texas Marine pleads guilty to stealing dead veteran’s war story, defrauding government
New York Daily News
Sarah Grochowski
November 28, 2016

A former Marine who cashed in on false claims of a wounded combat veteran's story is now facing 21 years behind bars.

A federal investigation has accused Brandon Blackstone with taking another veteran's tale of survival as his own. (MIKE FAVAZZA VIA YOUTUBE)

Brandon Blackstone, a Texas Marine, for years told the heart-wrenching tale of a Humvee that drove over an active landmine during his service in the Iraq War, claiming he sustained traumatic brain, head, and leg injuries.

A federal investigation has accused the Marine with taking another veteran's tale of survival as his own. Blackstone pleaded guilty to all of the charges, ABC affiliate WFAA reports.

Blackstone garnered monthly stipends from the U.S. Veteran's Association and secured a mortgage-free home from charity in 2012, according to the report.
read more here

A Fake Marine Live On TV News Camera--With Wife

Stolen Valor: Busting A Fake Marine Live On TV News Camera. He claimed to have the Navy Cross, on top of everything else.