"Second Lt. Douglas Sofranko has spent the last year impressing his fellow soldiers in the Florida Army National Guard with stories of his days as a Navy SEAL, while proudly wearing the distinctive Trident insignia on his Army uniform. He even had the SEAL Creed hung on the wall of his office.

The problem is, it was all a lie."

"The 35-year-old Army veteran told a reporter that day about his three tours of duty in Iraq. Voice dropping to a near-hush, he spoke, too, about the buried bomb that ripped through his Humvee, injuring him and claiming the lives of three friends, one of them a soldier from Paterson.

"I'm haunted by that day every day of my life," Otchy told The Star-Ledger.

But Otchy wasn't in that Humvee. He was at home in New Jersey when the soldiers died. And he didnt serve three tours of duty in Iraq. He served half of one tour before he was sent back to the States for extended rest and relaxation.

A Star-Ledger examination of Otchy's claims - including a review of Army records and interviews with military officials, members of his battalion and the blasted Humvee's lone survivor - show the Verona man fabricated his story."

"...Rodriguez, 31, was never in the Marines but had spent years passing himself off as a war hero, gaining access to military bases, getting discounted airline tickets, going to the Marine Corps Ball and briefly getting a job with a local health-care provider that gave him access to sensitive information on veterans.

Rodriguez, a former Scottsdale resident, was convicted this month of 12 felony counts of fraud and forgery, most of which carry a presumptive sentence of two to five years in prison. Rodriguez's attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

"Washington (CNN) -- A top military official at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of duty and charged with knowingly falsifying his personnel records.

Command Sgt. Maj. Stoney Crump, the senior enlisted officer for the Medical Center Brigade, had the "intent to deceive" when he submitted a false official record incorrectly stating that he had attended several military educational courses, according to the Army charge sheet."

More info: CNN report

"A Scottsdale man who pretended to be a decorated Marine was found guilty Monday on 12 fraud-related counts in Maricopa County Superior Court.

John W. Rodriguez, 31, was convicted by a jury on charges of forgery, fraudulent schemes and presentation of a false instrument for filing."

"On April 11, 2008, former U.S. Marine PFC Elven Joe Swisher was convicted on all charges against him (wearing unauthorized medals, perjury by making false statements, forgery by falsifying his discharge documents and theft by receiving veterans benefits without entitlement)."

""The lie," the News reported, was that "Swisher claimed he was a Korean War hero who took part in highly classified, secret missions to free U.S. prisoners of war. He claimed to have earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Medal with Gold Star, and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Bronze 'V.'"

He also, falsely claimed being on an expeditionary force to free POWs in North Korea and that he sustained multiple shrapnel and gunshot wounds while in Korea (September 1955). In his June 2004 VA hearing to obtain benefits, he testified under oath and claimed to be suffering from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder from the alleged 1955 combat in Korea. To bolster his account, Swisher wrote a book: A Marine Remembers: chronicling his fictitious experiences which quoted from the movie The Sands of Iwo Jima to give his story apparent authenticity.

The reality was that he served in the Marine Corps on active duty from 1954 to 1957 (all after the resolution of the Korean War). He was never assigned to nor traveled in Korea. His rank and training would have prohibited him from serving on an expeditionary force reserved for Green Berets. During his tour, he was demoted from Corporal to private first class (PFC) after being court-martialed for disciplinary problems. Finally, he was discharged without distinction of any kind in 1957.
Source: http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/judicial_and_courts/news.php?q=1225827767
Date added: July 11, 2010

"Based on his claims, Porter, who served in the Navy for 15 months in the 1970s, obtained $134,000 in VA disability benefits and $40,000 from the Social Security Administration from 1999 to 2006.

It all turned out to be false. Porter is in a jail cell serving a three-year sentence, and was forced to repay all money he accepted from VA and Social Security.

Justice Department officials in Washington state detailed Porters story, along with seven other people accused of  or already convicted of  being military frauds, during a news conference Friday on VA fakers.

'We take it seriously because this money is meant for veterans, not for fakers,' James O'Neill, assistant inspector general for the VA's office of investigations, told Military Times."

"If it's proven that Johnston gained his Army rank based on a phony Marine record, it would be the first documented case of so-called "stolen valor" in which the military was duped during the enlistment process, according to watchdogs of such fraud. Most cases involve attempts to get veterans' benefits or other forms of financial gain. Congress attempted to crack down on military impostors in 2005 by passing a law that makes it a crime to claim false decorations or medals."

The National Personnel Records Center, which collects information on all who have been discharged from the military, informed the AP that it could find no evidence that Johnston ever served.

"Smith pleaded not guilty on March 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Harwell Davis in Huntsville. Davis released him on bond in early March, not long after Smith was arrested by federal officials outside American Legion Post 237 where he thought he was about be inducted into the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

When arrested, Smith was reportedly wearing two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Senior Parachutist Badge and an Air Assault Badge.

To wear war medals not actually earned is a violation of the Stolen Valor Act."

"Kenneth Jerome Nelson, who perpetuated an elaborate fraud for 20 years as the volunteer caretaker of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, was sentenced Monday in federal court to mental health treatment as part of a year's probation...

"...According to a Military Times article last year, Nelson enlisted in 1977, but was released after less than two months from boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego."

"EL PASO -- Charles Ferguson Herring, a former state senator and U.S. attorney, no longer will be proclaimed a war hero by the state of Texas.

All references to combat valor were stripped Thursday from Herring's online biography at the Texas State Cemetery. The action came after its officials received military records contradicting Herring's claims of heroism during World War II.

Herring said he received the Navy Cross, a decoration for valor second only to the Medal of Honor; three Purple Hearts, each indicating combat injuries; and a Bronze Star, although not for valor. The biography also stated Herring left the Navy as a lieutenant commander.

The record shows that Herring received no awards for combat valor or for being wounded. It makes no mention of a Bronze Star for service in a war zone. And it shows he left the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade, two ranks below lieutenant commander, after 10 years of service. "

"A Veterans Affairs employee from Las Vegas was indicted this week in a case of stolen valor and stolen benefits.

The case against David M. Perelman, who claimed to have received a Purple Heart medal, is the first known prosecution in Nevada under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which outlawed false claims of military honor. According to the indictment, Perelman claimed he had been wounded in combat in Vietnam, when in fact he had been wounded by a self-inflicted gunshot in 1991."

Former chief never officially approved to get Purple Heart

"Whether Robert White was injured in Iraq in 2005 and deserved a Purple Heart makes no difference now.

The chief hospital corpsman wore the award without receiving it through official channels, and in the Navy's eyes, that makes him a faker.

The 19-year sailor, who was selected for advancement to senior chief in March, pleaded guilty on Dec. 16 to the unauthorized wearing of a Purple Heart while he worked at Great Lakes, Ill.

White's military judge sentenced him to 45 days in the brig, busted him down to E-5 and ordered him to forfeit four months of pay."

Not only did he lie about his military service, federal prosecutors say, but he also claimed to have received medals and decorations that were never awarded to him.

Randall Moneymaker, who talked his way into a job as an Army recruiter in Roanoke and Christiansburg, then landed in federal prison when his false stories of wartime trauma caught up with him, said he has again qualified for veterans disability benefits.

"Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. DiGirolamo sentenced Chad Chan Dieu, age 39, of Columbia, Maryland, late yesterday to 10 days in prison, one year probation with mental health treatment, and 100 hours of community service to be served within six months, for purchasing and wearing military uniforms, medals, badges, and decorations to which he was not entitled. Dieu was prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal offense to knowingly purchase or wear military medals, badges, or decorations without authority."

"A phony SEAL whose bogus post-traumatic stress disorder defrauded the government of more than $280,000 over seven years was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

"...For years, Warren had purported to be a combat-decorated SEAL. Navy records show otherwise. Warren was a sailor from Feb. 21, 1984, to March 23, 1988. He never was a SEAL. He never saw combat.

Warren "feigned and exaggerated various symptoms and causes of mental and physical illness and disease causing doctors and other health care providers to conclude that the defendant suffered from PTSD," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronda Coleman, who prosecuted the case, told Navy Times. Warren told Veterans Affairs officials his "disability" resulted not from countless incursions as a SEAL but from seeing a fellow crew member aboard the submarine tender Hunley severely burned and electrocuted..."

A 72-year-old veteran convicted for creating a bogus document of military awards and honors to obtain a Prisoner of War license plate was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in the Collier County jail for violating his probation.

Circuit Judge Fred Hardt ordered Raymond Gauthier, formerly of East Naples, to surrender at 6 p.m. Friday to serve his sentence after finding him guilty of violating his probation by possessing another phony DD-214, a military form used to apply for a POW license plate and discount as a war veteran.

A New York City man, who was exposed for wearing an impressive array of distinguished service decorations he did not earn, was sentenced today for the "likely damage" he caused "to the prestige" of the men and women who have rightly earned service medals.

Louis Lowell McGuinn, 68, was sentenced today to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service. Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox said he considered the "likely damage the defendant caused to the prestige" of those who legitimately earned the medals and chose the community service portion of the sentence to "redress damage to the community because of the defendant's misconduct."

FRASER pleaded guilty and was immediately sentenced on charges that he violated the newly enacted Stolen Valor Act, a misdemeanor, which was signed into law by President Bush on December 20, 2006.

During sentencing, Judge Brennan told the defendant that this case exemplified the phrase "Those who do, do. And those who don't, talk about it."

This case was the product of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Butte County Sheriff's Office.<

"A Ramona man who portrayed himself as a retired Marine Corps major general is admitting he was never an officer and has apologized.

David Weber said Monday that he regrets what he did because he has tremendous respect for the service."

..."I don't want to bring any discredit to the Marine Corps, because I love it," Weber said, adding that he didn't want to go into detail about why he falsely held himself as a two-star general.

Weber, 68, was profiled and pictured wearing a general's uniform in the Ramona Sentinel newspaper. The paper was covering a celebration at the town's Veterans of Foreign Wars post...."
Source: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_06bedce2-d84d-50f5-a44b-8f5ce0faff4d.html
Date added: June 27, 2010

"A Navy hospital corpsman who claims he rescued six Marines and recovered the bodies of four others during an ambush in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom was convicted Wednesday of wearing ribbons he did not earn.

"...Petty Officer 2nd Class Dontae L. Tazewell was found guilty of 10 of 11 counts of wearing unauthorized ribbons. Some of the honors recognized Tazewell for hero­ism during an ambush on March 28, 2003, earning him the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in July 2006.

On Wednesday, Tazewell's supervisors and others testified at his court-martial that the rescue never happened, painting a picture of a sailor so desperate to stay in the Navy that he concocted honors he did not merit...."

"STAMFORD -- Damian Pace wanted to "look cool," he told the criminal investigator from the U.S. Department of Defense last fall.

That's the reason Pace, who never finished his military training or served overseas, gave for occasionally wearing U.S. Army uniforms, complete with badges meant for combat veterans and soldiers with specialized training.

That's also why Pace, a 22-year-old Stamford resident and failed Army recruit, is being accused of violating the Stolen Valor Act..."

"...In August, Charles T. White told a Navy base newspaper the harrowing story of how the Viet Cong held him prisoner for seven months and, since he was a medic, forced him to treat his comrades.

"If we didn't, we would be killed," White was quoted as saying. The 68-year-old from St. Augustine told the reporter he was given four Purple Heart medals for injuries he suffered in the war.

On Friday, White told a federal judge he made it all up."

SACRAMENTO - A state fair police officer must do community service for falsely claiming that he earned a military award for gallantry in combat while he was in the Marine Corps.

Eric Piotrowski, an officer with Cal Expo in Sacramento, was convicted in federal court under the Stolen Valor Act.

Prosecutors say the 41-year-old bought a Silver Star over the Internet in 2007 and claimed he earned it for service during the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Piotrowski, a Marine veteran, didn't see military action during that war.

The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest military decoration.

The federal judge on Tuesday ordered Piotrowski to do 200 hours of community service at a veteran's hospital. He also was sentenced to 12 months' probation and placed under a lifetime ban from law enforcement.

A man who pretended to be a highly decorated Marine will serve three years of probation, including 120 hours of volunteer work, probably in the service of veterans.

"I really admire the military," Angel Ocasio-Reyes, 49, said before he was sentenced today for three federal misdemeanor charges under the Stolen Valor Act. "I never meant to hurt anyone."

Ocasio-Reyes, of Lutz, bought a beribboned Marine master gunnery sergeant uniform at an Army Navy surplus store in New York and paid a friend $25 for a DD Form 214, an official military discharge document, showing Navy service. He altered the form, typing in his address and a slew of medals and decorations, including the Navy Cross, making it appear as though he served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was injured in combat.

"...According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Birmingham, Weaver knowingly wore the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Combat Infantry Badge of U.S. Armed Forces, although he had not been awarded the badges or decorations and was not authorized to wear them..."

UPDATE:
Website: Navy Times article - CG retiree gets year for faking SEAL past

"A retired Coast Guard chief warrant officer 2 who claimed to be a decorated and combat-hardened SEAL and managed to get a disability rating from the government has pleaded guilty to wearing combat awards he did not earn.

Thomas Barnhart pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Roanoke, Va. to two counts of violating the Stolen Valor Act."

WORCESTER, MA - A Millbury man was convicted today in federal court of wearing combat decorations, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with combat "V," that he did not earn.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division and Chief Gary Gemme of the Worcester Police Department announced today that MICHAEL P. FRISOLI, 46, of Millbury, MA. pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman to an Information charging him with one count of wearing unauthorized military decorations under the Stolen Valor Act.

"...Xavier Alvarez of Pomona, Calif., pleaded guilty to violating the 2005 Stolen Valor Act. In doing so, he acknowledged that he had falsely claimed to have been awarded the nation's highest decoration for valor and, in fact, had never served in the U.S. military..."

"...'I'm a retired Marine of 25 years,' Alvarez told the group. 'I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional [sic] Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy. I'm still around.'"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A man who was known as the unofficial caretaker of Sacramento's Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been ordered to undergo mental health treatment for wearing a military medal that he didn't earn.

Prosecutors say 60-year-old Kenneth Nelson claimed for 20 years that he was a Vietnam War hero, though he never saw combat. They say Nelson wore a Silver Star, the military's third-highest decoration, and claimed to have received three Purple Hearts.

Nelson was prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a misdemeanor to wear the fake medals. He pleaded guilty in December.

A judge sentenced Nelson on Monday to a year of probation in addition to mental health treatment.

The defense argued that Nelson was nevertheless devoted to the Capitol Park memorial, keeping the site in good condition.

Hired hit man uses altered military history

A Veteran was sentenced to 366 days incarceration and 3 years probation for making false statements, theft, and wearing unauthorized military medals after an OIG investigation determined that the Veteran testified in a murder for hire case, as the hired hit man, and used his altered military history to bolster his credibility. The Veteran fraudulently received VA benefits by altering and forging various military records, to include his DD-214. The Veteran claimed to have been wounded in combat and to having earned several medals of valor, to include the Purple Heart and Silver Star. The loss to VA is $95,088.
Source: Semi-Annual report to Congress

Non-Veteran Pleads Guilty to Theft in "Stolen Valor" Case

A non-veteran pled guilty to theft of Government funds after having fraudulently received VA pension and health care benefits. The defendant claimed to have been a U.S. Marine for 12 years and to have served in Vietnam. An OIG investigation determined the defendant was incarcerated in three different state prisons, under a different name, during the time he was allegedly a Marine. The loss to VA is approximately $45,000 in pension benefits and approximately $200,000 in health care benefits.

North Carolina Veteran Sentenced in "Stolen Valor" Investigation

A Veteran was sentenced to 6 months incarceration, 2 years probation, and ordered to pay $65,956 in restitution after pleading guilty to theft of Government property. An OIG investigation determined that the defendant submitted a fraudulent DD-214 in order to receive VA benefits. The defendant fraudulently claimed to have received the Purple Heart, Korean Service Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon, and a Good Conduct Medal while reportedly serving in Korea during the Korean War. The Veteran never served in Korea during the Korean War.
Source: VA Criminal Investigations

Veteran Indicted for Stolen Valor Fraud

A Veteran was charged in a superseding indictment with Stolen Valor and false statements after an OIG investigation determined that he submitted a fraudulent DD-214 to the Disabled American Veterans purportedly reflecting his receipt of the Medal of Honor. The document was subsequently forwarded to a VA Regional Office (VARO) in support of the Veterans pending appeal for an increase in his VA disability benefits. Several months after submitting the fraudulent document, the Veteran also telephonically contacted the VARO to request that his records be changed to reflect that he was a Medal of Honor recipient. Former Philadelphia VAMC Employees
Source: VA Criminal Investigations

Veteran Arrested for Theft of VA Funds

A Veteran was arrested for theft of Government funds, false statements, and false claims about receipt of military decorations as the result of an OIG investigation. The investigation, which was initiated based on information obtained from a Stolen Valor website, revealed that in 1979 the defendant falsified military paperwork when he transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard by adding a Silver Star, Bronze Star, five Purple Hearts, Navy Seal Trident, and numerous other medals of valor and badges to his Navy discharge paperwork. While on active duty in the Coast Guard for 11 years, the defendant represented himself as having earned these awards and military badges. The defendant subsequently used the same falsified military discharge paperwork to apply for VA compensation benefits. The loss to VA is approximately $13,000.
Source: VA Criminal Investigations

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Benefits

A defendant pled guilty to an indictment charging him with theft of Government funds and Stolen Valor. An OIG and U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigation determined that the defendant obtained fraudulent DD-214s early in his 20-year career with the Navy and Coast Guard. The defendant represented himself as a Navy Seal who received multiple medals for valor for over 10 years while serving in the Coast Guard. Upon retirement, the defendant provided fraudulent DD-214s to VA when applying for benefits claiming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and lied extensively about combat exposure during mental health evaluations. The loss to VA is $13,923.
Source: VA Criminal Investigations

Veteran Convicted of Stolen Valor Fraud

A Veteran was convicted at trial for making a false claim of being awarded the Medal of Honor and making a false statement. An OIG investigation revealed that the Veteran falsely represented that he had been awarded the Medal of Honor, in violation of the Stolen Valor Act, and fraudulently provided false information to a VARO in an attempt to increase his VA benefit payments.

Veteran Indicted for Stolen Valor

A Veteran was arrested after being indicted for theft of Government funds. An OIG investigation determined that the defendant submitted a fraudulent Purple Heart certificate to VA in order to support his claim for VA compensation benefits. The loss to VA is approximately $24,000.
Source: VA Criminal Investigations

VA Employee Indicted for Stolen Valor

A VA employee was indicted for Stolen Valor fraud and theft of Government funds after an OIG investigation revealed that he submitted counterfeit documents and false statements to the U.S. Air Force indicating he was wounded while serving in Vietnam. Based upon the counterfeit documents and false statements, the U.S. Air Force awarded the employee a Purple Heart. The employee used the fraudulently obtained Purple Heart and a self-inflicted gunshot wound, received 20 years after his military service, to obtain compensation benefits from VA. The loss to VA is approximately $200,000.

" ...Saxon is not the U.S. Army master sergeant that he pretended to be. He hasn't served in the Armed Forces since he was discharged from the Florida National Guard in 1994. But authorities say he visited Fort Gordon in eastern Georgia at least 10 times in the last few months..." Source: http://www.ajc.com/news/prosecutors-fort-gordon-suspect-554608.html
Date added: June 22, 2010

"...George Hardy, an assistant director of the company's executive security detail - Wal-Mart's equivalent of the Secret Service -- was recently exposed as a phony SEAL after a tip from a co-worker..."

Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.