Brian
11-26-2013, 10:54
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Published: November 26, 2013
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis County man was sentenced Monday to one year in prison after faking military service and saying he worked for the federal government as part of a scam to lure people into buying tickets for a charity raffle that never took place, authorities said.
Matthew Buckingham, 41, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in federal court in August to one felony count of impersonating a federal agent. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey.
Court documents say Buckingham posted an ad on Craigslist in January 2013, indicating he was involved with a veterans' charity called “Veterans Aid From All Foreign Wars.” The ad said he planned to hold a raffle on July 4, and tickets cost $5 each. First, second, and third place prizes were $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, the ad said. He provided a contact number soliciting others to help him promote his events, and several females in the St. Louis area inquired and responded, authorities said.
He arranged to meet these women at different bars and restaurants in the area and introduced himself as “Tyler Matthews.” He told them he worked for various federal agencies and said he served in the marines in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that he had been injured during the war. He said that he had worked with the Department of Homeland Security and the coast guard, and said he worked “undercover” in north St. Louis “infiltrating gangs and otherwise combating crime,” authorities said.
He did not hold a raffle and has never been in the military or employed by the federal government, authorities said.
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/st-louis-county-man-gets-one-year-in-prison-for-faking-military-service-selling-fake-raffle-ticket-1.254665
Sent from my Honey Badger of an iPhone
Published: November 26, 2013
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis County man was sentenced Monday to one year in prison after faking military service and saying he worked for the federal government as part of a scam to lure people into buying tickets for a charity raffle that never took place, authorities said.
Matthew Buckingham, 41, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in federal court in August to one felony count of impersonating a federal agent. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey.
Court documents say Buckingham posted an ad on Craigslist in January 2013, indicating he was involved with a veterans' charity called “Veterans Aid From All Foreign Wars.” The ad said he planned to hold a raffle on July 4, and tickets cost $5 each. First, second, and third place prizes were $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, the ad said. He provided a contact number soliciting others to help him promote his events, and several females in the St. Louis area inquired and responded, authorities said.
He arranged to meet these women at different bars and restaurants in the area and introduced himself as “Tyler Matthews.” He told them he worked for various federal agencies and said he served in the marines in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that he had been injured during the war. He said that he had worked with the Department of Homeland Security and the coast guard, and said he worked “undercover” in north St. Louis “infiltrating gangs and otherwise combating crime,” authorities said.
He did not hold a raffle and has never been in the military or employed by the federal government, authorities said.
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/st-louis-county-man-gets-one-year-in-prison-for-faking-military-service-selling-fake-raffle-ticket-1.254665
Sent from my Honey Badger of an iPhone