Veteran faked military awards for government job, feds say. He gets prison in FL
A federal judge sentenced a U.S. Marine Corps veteran to prison after prosecutors said he repeatedly lied about his military career and accolades that were never awarded to him, including a prestigious medal that honors heroic servicemembers in combat.
The 60-year-old Jacksonville, Florida, resident used an illegitimate military discharge form he created to land a government intelligence job and to support applications for other contracted government positions, as well as a disability benefits claim, according to prosecutors.
Now, he’s to serve a three-month prison sentence on a count of making a false statement to a federal agency, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a May 15 news release.
The man pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 20, McClatchy News reported.
His federal defender, Sabra M. Barnett, declined McClatchy News’ request for comment May 16.
Ahead of sentencing, the man received an outpouring of support from loved ones and friends. Writing to the judge, they characterized him through letters as a man of integrity, describing his selflessness, compassion and dedication to his country.
The eight letters were written by his wife, his stepson, a fellow Marine veteran who served alongside him in Iraq, a South Carolina law enforcement officer who also works for the U.S. Marshals Service and others.
His wife acknowledged his “mistake” and wrote he has genuine remorse.
The man served more than six years as a U.S. Marine, from September 1983 to December 1989, until he was honorably discharged, according to court filings.
At some point before or in 2009, he created the fake military discharge form to pretend he served several more years in the military than he actually did and to lie about positions and awards he held, prosecutors said.
He represented he served as a “reconnaissance man, parachute and scuba instructor” for more than 14 years, a counterintelligence/human intelligence position for over eight years and a fire support position for nearly 15 years, according to his indictment.
None of that was true, prosecutors said.
What was true, based on his actual honorable discharge form from Dec. 20, 1989, was his three-year and nine months of experience as a “field radio operator” and his experience as a “water safety survival instructor” for about two and a half years, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
The military decorations the man pretended to receive included the Bronze Star with V Device, a prestigious medal honoring actions in combat, and awards related to the Iraq War and Liberation of Kuwait, according to prosecutors.
In 2009, he used the fraudulent document for the contracted government intelligence analyst position and received the job, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He went on to submit the form for other government contract jobs and to wrongly claim disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, prosecutors said.
Overall, he used it “at least 10 times over 15 years,” according to prosecutors.
‘A terrible mistake’
In one of the letters to the judge, the man’s stepson wrote:
“My hope is for you to see that (he) is a genuine dedicated patriot that made a terrible mistake.”
“He has spent most of his life serving our country, but he has spent his entire life helping others,” the stepson also wrote, in part. “He has physically destroyed himself serving his country; 2 broken shoulders, several broken bones, shrapnel over various parts of his body, almost def in both ears, etc.”
“Despite all of that, I think the most upsetting thing to him is that he can no longer continue to do so.”
The man was investigated by the U.S. State Department, specifically the federal agency’s Diplomatic Security Service’s Office of Special Investigations.
After prison, he must serve three years of supervised release as part of his sentence, records show. The judge also ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Veteran faked military awards for government job, feds say. He gets prison in FL."
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