There is nothing that will get me fired up more then these stories of phony vets. Normally the guys over at This Ain't Hell do all the heavy lifting on these sort of stories and do their best to expose these phonies, but lately it has gotten harder, not easier, to prosecute these cases under the Stolen Valor Act.
Recently the ninth circuit in CA, the most overturned court in the country and one which has received reprimands from the Supreme Court for their nonjudicial activities, ruled that lying about military service is not a punishable offense and instead protected under free speech.
Well this example of free speech cost the taxpayers $16 million. Fortunately he was tried in a court that doesn't take such accepting view of posing as a vet when you're not.
A man claiming to be a disabled vet was convicted Wednesday of ripping off the government for $16 million in federal contracts.
A Manhattan federal jury said John Anthony Raymond White and his firm, Mitsubishi Construction Corp., bid on contracts the VA awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
White at times claimed he hurt his back while a Navy ROTC; other times he said he was in Special Forces.
The jury concluded he was always a fraud - and he faces up to 75 years in jail and $3.7 million in fines when sentenced.
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