CG retiree gets year for faking SEAL past - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

CG retiree gets year for faking SEAL past

A retired Coast Guard chief warrant officer 2 who falsely claimed to be a decorated and combat-hardened SEAL was sentenced to a year in prison Thursday and ordered to repay $11,098 in veterans’ benefits he fraudulently received.

Thomas Barnhart served a combined 21 years in the Navy and the Coast Guard. He joined the Navy in 1969, then moved to the Coast Guard 10 years later. He entered the Coast Guard claiming to be a SEAL who had completed diving school, according to court records.

He also claimed to have earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with “V” device for valor, Purple Heart with four stars, a Combat Action Ribbon and Vietnam War-era awards, which were added to Barnhart’s DD 214. Later DD 214 alterations would add a Navy Commendation with “V” device, Presidential Unit Citation with three stars, and Vietnamese Medal of Honor First and Second Class.

“As a result of what everyone believed, the defendant was promoted to warrant officer in the [Coast Guard] ahead of others,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig “Jake” Jacobsen said in his Jan. 6 federal prosecution. Barnhart pleaded guilty that day in Roanoke, Va., to two counts of violating federal Stolen Valor legislation by falsely claiming to have been awarded medals. He also pleaded guilty to a felony embezzlement charge tied to the disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder.

His SEAL story

Barnhart, who did serve off the coast of Vietnam in 1969 and 1970, retired Dec. 31, 1990, and applied for disability through the Veterans Affairs Department less than a year later. By that time, he was passing himself off as a member of SEAL Team 1 with five Purple Hearts and a nomination for the Medal of Honor. He claimed a scar on his left forearm was the result of a gunshot, though VA medical records from 1987 said the injury was the result of Barnhart cutting himself on a piece of metal.

The VA claim was denied, but Barnhart was successful after giving it another try — this time with the help of his congressman — in 2005. Barnhart claimed he suffered from PTSD and pointed to his altered DD 214 to support his claim. The VA awarded him a 30 percent disability rating in 2006.

The case against him began when Mary Schantag of the POW Network got wind of the bogus claims. Her investigation led to the Virginia state attorney’s office looking into the matter.

On Jan. 25, 2008, Barnhart admitted his DD 214 was altered, and that he was neither a SEAL nor a combat veteran. By that time, Barnhart had received $13,923 for his fraudulent PTSD claim.

Barnhart could have received 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the theft of government funds, and one year in prison and a $5,000 fine for claiming medals he did not earn, which is a misdemeanor.