Chicago White Sox Honor Fallen Soldier's Family

Soldier killed in Afghanistan honored at Sox game
Chicago Sun Times
WRITTEN BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA
POSTED: 08/28/2015,

When the White Sox invited Pam Toppen to attend Friday night’s game with her family, she was grateful for the invitation in honor of her late son, 19-year-old U.S. Army PFC Aaron Toppen.

Relatives of Aaron Toppen were given a framed White Sox jersey at Friday's game. They are (left to right): Aaron Toppen's brother-in-law Jerry Gralewski; his sister Amanda, holding 6-month-old Aubrey; his uncle Jack Winter, holding the jersey; his mother, Pam Toppen; and his sister, Amy Toppen. His niece Taylor is seated. Aaron Toppen died last year in Afghanistan.
Maudlyne Ihejirika/Sun-Times

But she said she never expected the plush suite behind home plate, or the surprise presentation during the Sox vs. Mariners game at Cellular Field — when the family was called out on the field to receive a standing ovation from the crowd, and a framed Sox jersey in honor of Aaron, a baseball fanatic.

“It was just unbelievable,” she said, teary-eyed, after the family came off the field in the second-inning.

“When the crowd gave him a standing ovation, and the Sox gave us his jersey, the tears started flowing,” she added. “Our mission in life is to pay it forward, to help others. We could be mad about what happened, but that’s not who we want to be. And that won’t bring Aaron back.”

Toppen, 55, of southwest suburban Mokena, lost her son last June 9, when he was killed in Afghanistan — along with four American Special Operations Forces members and one Afghani soldier — in the deadliest instance of friendly fire since that war began in 2001.

An Air Force B-1 bomber airstrike mistakenly killed Toppen and the others during a battle with insurgent forces in southern Afghanistan. An Army investigation blamed poor communications.
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Air Show Claimed Life of 5 Tour OEF OIF Veteran

U.S. Army Parachutist Who Served Five Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan Dies After Chicago Air Show Accident
The Blaze
Dave Urbanski
Aug. 16, 2015

Hood was a sergeant first class who served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 10 years in the Army, according to his bio. He also received two Bronze Stars and two Meritorious Service Medals and recorded more than 500 freefall jumps since 2010. He hailed from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sgt. First Class Corey Hood

(Image source: U.S. Army)

CHICAGO (TheBlaze/AP) — A U.S. Army parachutist died Sunday after suffering severe injuries from an accident during a stunt at the Chicago Air and Water Show, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Corey Hood, 32, was pronounced dead just after 4 p.m. Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said Mario Johnson, a medical examiner’s investigator.

The Army Golden Knights and Navy Leap Frogs parachute teams were performing what is known as a “bomb burst” Saturday when the collision occurred, a Golden Knights spokeswoman Donna Dixon said Saturday. During the stunt, parachutists fall with red smoke trailing from packs and then separate, creating a colorful visual in the sky.
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UPDATE
Army Skydivers Returning to Fort Bragg After Member's Death
CHICAGO — Aug 17, 2015

ABC Latest News | Latest News Videos

Fort McCoy Reservist From Chicago Death Under Investigation

Reservist who died at Fort McCoy identified
WISN ABC News
Published 1:41 PM CDT Aug 14, 2015

SPARTA, Wis. — Fort McCoy has identified an Army reservist who died after being found unresponsive at the Wisconsin training base.

The Army says Staff Sgt. Aida Hernandez was 31 and from Chicago. 
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Huey Lewis Honors Power of Military Couple's Love

Huey Lewis fans see 'The Power of Love' with a surprise in Elgin 
Chicago Tribune
By Mike Danahey
Elgin Courier-News
July 20, 2015

Pop star Huey Lewis receives a flag that flew in Afghanistan from National Guard
veteran Ray Ropa, right, and wife Kris Ropa in Elgin. (Ray Ropa / Handout)

Huey Lewis had a reunion of sorts after his weekend show in Elgin.

The '80s hitmaker sings of the power of love, asks if you believe in love in another song, and croons about doing it all for his baby.

Fan Ray Ropa pulled off a grand romantic gesture Sunday night in Elgin at Grand Victoria Casino Summer Concert Series in Festival Park.

"It wasn't your average meet and greet," said Ray Ropa. He and his wife, Kris, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, met the singer backstage after the show. "(Lewis) met with about six other fans besides us, talking to us as a group, then individually. His road manager told him our story, and then I could see the gears turning in (Lewis') head. (Lewis) pointed to me and said, 'So this is my vet(eran) over here.'"

It wasn't the first time Kris Ropa, a middle-school social studies teacher, met Lewis. She had a chance to meet the star at a concert at a casino in Iowa in 2011, when Ray Ropa was a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan.

"To help Kris with my time away and also to have some special memories just in case something happened to me, I came up with an idea based on one of my wife's favorite movies, 'P.S. I Love You.' I pre-wrote a series of letters and gave them to special friends and people I knew, and once a month, my wife would randomly get a letter."
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Former U.S. Marine Charged with Stealing Identities of Fellow Service Personnel

Former U.S. Marine Charged with Stealing Identities of Fellow Service Personnel in Scheme to Defraud Navy Federal Credit Union of More Than $138,000

U.S. Attorney’s Office
July 17, 2015

Northern District of Illinois

CHICAGO—A former United States Marine from Calumet City stole the identities of several fellow Marines and used their information to illegally procure more than $138,000 from Navy Federal Credit Union, according to an indictment returned this week in federal court in Chicago.

While serving in Combat Logistics Regiment 3 at Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan, LEONARD E. PARKER JR. obtained a Marine roster containing the personal information of several fellow Marines stationed at the camp, according to the indictment. After returning to the United States, Parker and a co-defendant, DONTREAL S. EVANS, allegedly used the Marines’ information to transfer approximately $138,798 from the Marines’ accounts into bank accounts belonging to individuals Parker and Evans had recruited into the scheme.

Parker and Evans offered to pay those individuals to allow Parker and Evans to control and access the accounts, the indictment states. The pair later withdrew funds and made purchases from the accounts they controlled, and kept the proceeds from the scheme, according to the indictment. Parker also allegedly filed false tax returns in the names of Marines whose personal information was on the roster.

The indictment, which was returned Thursday, charged Parker, 24, of Calumet City, with five counts of financial institution fraud; one count of aggravated identity theft; and four counts of filing false claims against the United States. Evans, 21, of Lansing, was charged in the indictment with three counts of financial institution fraud. The defendants’ arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.
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Decorated Disabled Veteran Shot on 4th of July By Police

Shot on the Fourth of July, Veteran Says 
Courthouse News Service
By LORRAINE BAILEY
Monday, July 06, 2015

Smith says he was hit five times in his chest, stomach, arm and legs, and grazed by two bullets on his face and neck.

CHICAGO (CN) - A decorated veteran was drinking a beer on the street last July 4 when Chicago police chased and shot him five times, he claims in Federal Court.

Levail Smith says he fought in Operation Desert Storm with the U.S. Marine Corps, service that earned him three Bronze Stars, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Navy Unit Commendation, the National Defense Services Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).

That tour also left Smith with post-traumatic stress disorder, however, and he says qualifies as fully disabled.

Smith was doing his laundry in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood at approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 4, 2014, when he stepped outside and joined a group of men standing on the sidewalk, according to a federal complaint Smith filed last week.

He says one of the men handed him a can of beer, and that an unmarked police car immediately descended on him after he took a sip.

Seeing Officer Tim Manning place his hand on his gun after getting out of the car, Smith says the threatening gesture triggered his PTSD, causing him to fear for his life and run.
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Artist Matt Mitchell Decade of 100 Veterans' Project

In artist’s project, veterans’ words complete their portraits 
Stars and Stripes
By Heath Druzin
Published: March 22, 2015

At times, it was a struggle for Mitchell, now 45, to make ends meet as the project became a full-time job. He was helped by a few grants and most of all by his wife, Rebecca Guay, a fellow artist whom he says made tremendous sacrifices to help him.

As bombs fell on Baghdad and Kabul, Matt Mitchell went about his normal routine, an unaffected spectator while troops died overseas. “I found I could just live my life as if nothing was happening, and it got under my skin,” he said.

So the artist sought understanding through a familiar medium: portraiture.

That was in 2005, and nine years later he finally completed “100 Faces of War Experience” and put it on display for the first time at the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. 

Mitchell reflected the range of experiences of returning troops by creating 100 oil-on-canvas paintings, spending 40 to 80 hours on each life-size head-and-shoulders portrait.

Many times, the veterans would tell him their experiences, often painful ones, as he painted. Their stories were often emotionally draining, he said, but ultimately were “uplifting” and educational for him and viewers of the project.

“Sure, you talk about heavy things, and the project is pretty heavy, but you realize that every single [veteran] out there fills in part of the picture,” he said. read more here

Chicago WWII Veteran Receives France's Legion Of Honor

France honors Chicago-area World War II veteran
Chicago Tribune
By Gregory Pratt
March 7, 2015

Almost 71 years ago, Leonard Goldstein stormed a Normandy beach during the D-Day invasion. On Saturday, the 100-year-old veteran received the Legion of Honor from the French government for his bravery.

Goldstein, who was born in Chicago and raised his family in Skokie, was one of many soldiers who fought to liberate France during that battle that changed the course of history.

Vincent Floreani, the French consul general in Chicago, pinned the medal to Goldstein's chest after a ceremony at Alden Estates in Barrington where he thanked Goldstein and all the American soldiers "who were ready to sacrifice their lives for France and Western Europe" during World War II.

"Many did not return, but they are in our hearts and fortunately, Mr. Goldstein, you are among us to help us remember," Floreani said.

The Legion of Honor was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and is the "highest honor" the French can bestow.
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Fort Bliss Chaplain Deployed 7 Times

Ready First: Brigade chaplain inspired by 9/11 to serve in Army, minister to soldiers
El Paso Times
By David Burge
POSTED: 01/01/2015

Barkemeyer is also the most deployed Catholic priest and most deployed chaplain currently serving in the Army, Fort Bliss officials said. He has been to Iraq five times and to Afghanistan twice. He volunteered for six of those deployments.

Chaplain Maj. John Barkemeyer is the chaplain for the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. He is the most deployed chaplain currently in the U.S. Army. (Rudy Gutierrez — El Paso Times)

Army Chaplain Maj. John Barkemeyer was a Catholic priest in the Chicago area when he was inspired to join the service.

He witnessed Ground Zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City. He served as a chaplain for the Chicago Fire Department when its firefighters went to New York to help out.

Barkemeyer also saw many courageous young men and women in his parish join the military in a call to duty after 9/11.

"I saw the selflessness in them and asked myself, 'Am I doing everything I can do?'" said Barkemeyer, a 50-year-old native of Wilmette, Ill. "That coupled with the Ground Zero experience were two eye-opening experiences. 'OK, God, you got my attention.' "

Barkemeyer has now been in the Army for 12 years and is currently the brigade chaplain for the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. He became the Ready First Brigade chaplain in July 2014.

He helps fill one of the most critical shortages in the Army — a chaplain who is a Catholic priest. There are only about 100 Catholic priests serving in the Army and they probably need about 400 to ideally cover the needs of soldiers, Barkemeyer said.
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PTSD: Marine's Story of Seeking Peace After War

A retired Marine's struggle to find some peace on homefront
Chicago Tribune
By Bonnie Miller Rubin
November 11, 2014

Pause Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune

Don Larson pauses for a long moment during a meeting of Tribute to the Troops at the Brunch Cafe in Fox River Grove. He and his wife, Terri, are active members and are working on an event to bring awareness to mental health issues.

Don Larson's bucolic Crystal Lake subdivision is a long way from Somalia, Iraq or any of the other war-torn locales where he served during his 23 years as a Marine.

But in his mind, Larson must remain hypervigilant. He can't enter his home without first sweeping the property to make sure it has not been compromised. He has devised strategies — such as leaving a coin on a dresser — to make sure nothing has been moved by an intruder.

Still, home feels safer to him than any public place — a shopping mall, a movie theater, even a church pew — where he's constantly scanning the crowd for suspicious characters and searching for exits, just in case he needs a quick getaway.

"Time and distance is always your friend," said the 55-year-old. "That's why when we enter the house, I like (my wife) Terri to always be behind me — so if we run into anything, she has time and distance to get away."

Larson's wife of 35 years, Terri, patiently waited outside on a recent weekday afternoon while her husband performed his security check. She is the one who nearly three years ago persuaded this reluctant, stoic Marine to get help.

Don Larson is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates. He credits the combination of medication and counseling, including a tool called virtual reality exposure therapy, with saving his marriage and his life. Despite his mood swings, crippling anxiety and fear of crowds that fuel obsessive surveillance rituals, clinicians say he is making progress.

As the nation observes Veterans Day, Larson allowed the Tribune to sit in on his sessions, sharing intimate details in the hope that it might erase stigma and encourage others grappling with mental illness.

"I knew that I was destroying myself, my wife, our relationship," Larson said. "I came close to losing the very thing that was most important to me."
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"Rags of Honor," a t-shirt is a lifeline for veterans

T-SHIRT COMPANY A LIFELINE FOR HOMELESS VETERANS
ABC 7 News WLS
October 04, 2014

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Sometimes a t-shirt is more than just a t-shirt and at a company called "Rags of Honor," a t-shirt is a lifeline for veterans who need a helping hand.

The t-shirts they produce look similar to any others. It's the workers who are different.

"It's the only company, silkscreen company and apparel company that we know of devoted to hiring homeless veterans," said founder Mark Doyle.

Tamika Holyfield trained other seamen in handling weapons during her six-year tenure in the navy.

"I did two years and a half at the Bartons Air Base in Afghanistan," she said. "I returned to hardship and turmoil. I didn't have a place to live so I was basically living out of my car."

Twenty-five-year-old Frank Beamon III was a sniper operating a 50-caliber machine gun atop an army vehicle in Afghanistan.

Both found their skills hard to market when they returned home.
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Veterans Memorial Attacked in New Lenox

Veterans Memorial Vandalized In New Lenox
CBS Chicago
Jim Williams
September 29, 2014

(CBS) – Residents of southwest suburban New Lenox cannot believe it: Vandals heavily damaged a beloved veterans memorial over the weekend.

“They pushed it over to point where it actually fell and broke,” Vietnam veteran Larry Paveza tells CBS 2’s Jim Williams.

Four monuments — honoring the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines — were shoved over at the memorial, despite their size and weight.

Locals wonder: Why would vandals destroy what people here have called sacred ground since its dedication 10 years ago? The memorial honors service members who once lived in the area and died in conflicts from the Civil War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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YMCA Urban Warriors Pairs Veterans with Kids

War Vets, Kids Scarred by Gangs Help Each Other
CHICAGO
By SHARON COHEN AP National Writer
Sep 27, 2014

Jorge Maya sat in a circle at his neighborhood YMCA, a sturdy Afghanistan vet listening to a group of teenage boys scarred by gang violence.

There was Sammy, 16, who could describe the times he'd dodged gunfire, once ducking behind a tree.

Anderson, 17, who'd been around gangs most of his life. By his teens, he was carrying knives and bricks for protection.

And 14-year-old Fernando, who was just 12 when a pistol-wielding kid killed his friend.

Maya's own story was much the same. He'd grown up on the same streets, faced the same dangers, known the same temptations. He'd escaped Little Village, the largely Mexican community that had been home. He eventually joined the Army, trading one violent place for another, a war zone far away. And when he returned, he felt lost.

Now he was at the Y, sitting with other Afghanistan and Iraq vets and these teens, the two groups bound by a history of violence and trauma — on distant battlefields, nearby street corners or both.

They were the first class of a new YMCA-sponsored pilot program, Urban Warriors. For a dozen Saturdays, the two generations opened their hearts and minds, the vets finding new purpose after the war, the kids drawing guidance from mentors who understood their lives.

"I told them I've been through tough times," Maya says. "I've been shot. I dropped out of high school. I'd say, 'Look man, you can do something different with yourself. If I can do it, you can, too.'... There is hope."
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Fallen Soldier's Mom Sent to Collections by Funeral Home?

FUNERAL HOME COLLECTION NOTICES SENT TO MOM OF FALLEN SOLDIER
ABC 7 News Chicago
By Steve Campion
September 17, 2014

HOUSTON -- With bill collectors calling and letters arriving in the mail, a Houston mother said she's forced to relive her son's death.

Sergeant Graham Woody passed away in April of 2013. He died from injuries sustained in a military exercise in Fort Bliss. His mother, Maddi Armstrong, held a service for him days later at the Setteghast-Koph Funeral home in Sugar Land.

"Graham was an amazing, amazing kid. He graduated from A and M with an engineering degree," remembered Armstrong.

Armstrong says Woody joined the Army out of a love for his country.

In June of this year -- more than a year after his death -- Armstrong said she first got a call from a debt collector. Just last week, she received a letter for more than $5,000 in monies owed. The company even offered her a settlement.
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Navy Blue Angels Cover Chicago Sky

Thousands Crowd Lakefront As Blue Angels Return To Chicago Air And Water Show
CBS Chicago
August 16, 2014

CHICAGO (CBS) — Thousands crowded Chicago’s lakefront as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels made their return to the Chicago Air and Water Show on Saturday.

WBBM’s Lisa Fielding reports Fullerton Beach was filled with a diverse group and there were many from overseas experiencing their very first airshow.

“It is pretty unique,” said Tristan from Argentina. “It is amazing. We love it.”
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Vietnam Veteran Died Waiting for Care at the VA

Dead Vietnam Vet's Son Seeks Fed Hospital's Surveillance Video
Family believes man was kept waiting too long for medical care
NBC 5 News
By Chris Coffey
August 5, 2014

His son, Tarrell Green, said the facility's record of what happened is missing key points, including the critical minutes he claims his father was denied medical care.

"What the video would prove is that I was there at 10:05 (AM)," Green said. "I went to get help. I beg and pleaded for help. And I asked these guys come help my father. I didn't want him to die like that."

The son of a Vietnam veteran who passed away in April said surveillance video would prove a North Chicago federal health care facility was not prepared to help his father when they arrived under emergency circumstances.

But obtaining the video possibly captured by cameras at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center may prove difficult as questions are being raised about the facility's video archiving process.

Lawrence Sinnin, 68, died from acute coronary syndrome on April 28th, according to his death certificate.
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Chicago-based Veteran Beer Company has a mission

Beer Company Helps to Battle Veteran Unemployment
WSAW News
By: Emily Davies
Jun 10, 2014

They put their lives on the line to protect us, but that doesn't mean America's finest always get what they deserve. Military service members often come home from duty and struggle to find a job, let alone one they're happy with.

Chicago-based Veteran Beer Company has a mission to not only create great beer, but also change the way employers view vets all over the country.

Marc Blue is one veteran who had difficulties getting hired. He was an Army Officer and toured overseas in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He came back from deployment in June of 2012 and "did what everyone else did," try to get a job.

All attempts were unsuccessful and he was without a job for 18 months, despite having a Bachelor's degree and leadership and management skills he gained in service, then he heard about Veteran Beer Company.

"I'm like okay, I'll give my resume, I'll see what happens and sure enough, without any questions asked, they're like, 'Marc you're on,'" he said.

He's now one of five full-time and 44 part-time employees of the B Corp. or Benefit Corporation founded on the mission to hire vets like him. Benefit Corporations like their company as well as Ben and Jerry's and Newman's Own are structured as a for-profit company with a focus on a mission. In this case, when enough money to hire another employee is made, another veteran employee must be hired and 10% of all profits also go to charities that support the veteran community in the areas they serve.

Also, the company is 100% owned and operated by military veterans.
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Chicago Theif Stole From Deployed Marines

Marines Return From Overseas to Ransacked Home
“It just sucked to come home to,” Cpl. Adam Resseguie said
NBC Chicago
By Alexandria Fisher
Saturday, May 31, 2014

Adam Resseguie, of Fox River Grove, Illinois, had been deployed since September 2013.

The Marine Scout Sniper returned from Afghanistan on Memorial Day weekend to learn that thousands of dollars worth of his belongings were missing from a North Carolina home where he had them stored.

Before leaving for Afghanistan, Resseguie said he stored his possessions at the home of Cpl. Ryan Glass, a fellow Marine who was also set to deploy around the same time.

While the two were gone they asked a neighbor to look after the home and their belongings. During their time abroad, the two were notified by the neighbor that the home was ransacked and several of their belongings taken.

"[My neighbor] sent me pictures on Facebook and I just see everything in my house is just broken, stuff is missing around my house," Glass said.

They said a man who had been renting a room at the neighbor's residence for at least a year stole Glass' key and took their belongings.

A North Carolina police detective familiar with the case confirmed that the suspect is listed as “wanted” but could not offer any further details surrounding the case. The detective declined to be named for this story because of the ongoing investigation.
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Iraq Veteran Killed Hours Before Graduation

Iraq War veteran from Lemont killed in crash hours before college graduation
Chicago Tribune
By Kim Geiger
Tribune reporter
May 18, 2014

Iraq war veteran Paul Davidson III when he graduated the Marine Corps basic training.

(Family photo)

Paul Davidson III was just hours away from receiving his degree in architecture from the University of Illinois when he was killed Friday night in a traffic accident.

Davidson, 30, originally of Lemont, was riding his motorcycle down an Urbana street when he was struck by a car and killed, according to police reports.

He was on his way to have his hair cut before his Saturday graduation ceremony, said his mother, Corinne Davidson.

An Iraq War veteran and motorcycle enthusiast, Davidson was an honor student with a passion for architecture, his mother said.

“You should see some of the models this kid has done,” Davidson said of her son. “He has designed the most gorgeous stuff. He was just something else.”

Even during his time in the Marines, Davidson’s interest in architecture guided his work. While in Fallujah in 2005, he was assigned to a combat engineering unit, which specialized in buildings, his mother said.
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Homeless Vet Framed for Rape Sues Chicago

Homeless Vet Framed for Rape Sues Chicago
Courthouse News
By JACK BOUBOUSHIAN
April 29, 2014

CHICAGO (CN) - A homeless, mentally ill veteran spent 11 years in prison after Chicago police withheld exonerating evidence and coerced him into confessing to a rape in a downtown courtroom that never happened, the man claims in court.

Carl Chatman sued Chicago, 15 police officers, Assistant State's Attorney Brian Holmes, and others, in Federal Court.

"Carl Chatman spent more than eleven years in prison for a rape he did not commit," the complaint states.

"Not only did Mr. Chatman not commit the rape for which he was wrongfully convicted, but the rape never even occurred at all. The purported victim made up an account of having been raped in Chicago's Daley Center so that she could bring a lawsuit for money damage against the company responsible for the building's security.

"This marked the second time this same woman had fabricated rape charges in order to bring a legal action against a building security company for illicit financial gain.

"After the purported rape victim made up the story of having been attacked in the Daley Center, the defendants proceeded to 'solve' the crime. Specifically, in their zealousness to obtain a swift conviction in a high profile case, the defendant Chicago police officers took advantage of Mr. Chatman's mental instability and coerced him to falsely confess to a crime that never actually happened."

Chatman, now 59, is an Army veteran who in 2000, had "fallen on hard times. He was an easily confused and extremely vulnerable man," according to the 48-page lawsuit filed by Chicago attorneys Loevy & Loevy.

Chatman went to Chicago's Daley Center, a hub of government offices, to learn how to file a small claims suit in 2002. There, he accidentally walked into Judge Ronald Bartkowicz's courtroom, where he ran into Susan Riggio, who worked as a scheduling clerk for a judge.

"After a very brief interaction, Mr. Chatman left without incident. At the time, he was wearing a Blackhawks jacket and street clothes.

"Based on this encounter, defendant Riggio knew what Mr. Chatman looked like, and also knew that he was a defenseless and guileless individual, who would not fare well if falsely accused. He was, in short, the perfect target for her plan," the complaint states.
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