| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Military Fake Gets Probation |
| 2007-12-03 |
| SEATTLE A 71-year-old man who claimed to be a decorated Korean War veteran pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to lying about his military service to get benefits and to wearing military medals he did not earn. Roy J. Scott of Port Angeles pleaded guilty to using an altered military discharge certificate to obtain Veterans Administration compensation and medical benefits and to unlawfully wearing the military medals. According to his plea agreement, in August 1999, Scott used a falsified military discharge form to get benefits. The form claimed that he had served in the Marine Corps in Korea, and that he was wounded in combat there. The form also claimed that Scott had been awarded several medals, including a Purple Heart. He also said he was honorably discharged. Prosecutors say Scott never earned those medals, never served in Korea or any foreign country and was court-martialed. They add that he did not receive an honorable discharge and was not entitled to benefits. Between 2000 and 2007, he received $21,960 in VA medical benefits that he did not deserve, the U.S. attorney's office said. As part of his plea agreement Scott agreed to repay that money. In 2006, Scott appeared at public events in Port Angeles, wearing the uniform of a Marine Corps major and medals and ribbons indicating he had been awarded the decorations he claimed, including the Bronze Star and Combat Action Ribbon. The Bronze Star is awarded to soldiers deemed to have made an extraordinary contribution to the national defense. The Combat Action Ribbon is awarded to soldiers who participated in actual combat. He will be sentenced Nov. 30 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler. Use of an altered military discharge certificate to obtain benefits carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and $100,000 fine. Unlawful wearing of U.S. military medals carries a maximum six months and a $5,000 fine. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #2 HEROES OR VILLAINS ?? The listed individuals have been reported as having made statements about being captured, captured but never reporting it, held in captivity, tortured, escaping captivity, being rescued or the unique report noted below. Based on the P.O.W. NETWORK's access to POW/MIA documentation, contact with former POWs, NAM-POWS Inc, American Ax-POWs, SEALS, Special Forces, MACVSOG, Vietnam Helicopter Pilots, Medal of Honor recipients and basing our work on the DPMO's list (PMSEA) -- NO documentation exists to back up their statements. In our FIFTEEN YEARS of working with the data - NOT ONE CASE has shown the PMSEA and the corroborating documents to be wrong. The names listed make up a combined list of individuals reported to the P.O.W. NETWORK. In some instances the individual was reported to one of the other above named organizations and sent to us for further investigation. For many, military records are IN HAND providing actual military service details that do NOT confirm alleged POW status. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-12-03 08:56 |
| #1 (The main article posted is the background information. Here it today's follow-up) A 71-year-old Port Angeles man who falsely posed as a decorated Korean War veteran has been sentenced to four months of electronically monitored home confinement. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Roy J. Scott admitted he posed as a Marine major and used a bogus military discharge certificate to receive $21,960 worth of veteran's benefits. Before his sentencing today, Scott broke down in tears before Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler and asked that she allow him to continue his job on an oil platform off the coast of Africa. The judge, however, stuck to the recommendations of prosecutors by ordering the home confinement and two years' probation. Several real veterans attended the sentencing in U.S. District Court in Seattle. One of them, Harry Findley -- who said his father was a Marine officer who died at Guadalcanal during World War II -- called the sentence a "travesty of justice" and said Scott should have had to do time behind bars. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-12-03 08:49 |