Charges: Man faked Vietnam claims, took $30k - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Charges: Man faked Vietnam claims, took $30k

WILMINGTON, N.C. — A man already charged with wearing the uniform and medals of a highly decorated Marine colonel faces new charges that he lied about Vietnam battle injuries and took more than $30,000 in veteran's benefits.

Michael Hamilton, 67, of Richlands fraudulently said during a Veterans Affairs compensation medical exam last year that he saw repeated combat in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that resulted in him being "shot, stabbed, and blown up, and witnessed atrocities such as the dismemberment and decapitation of his best friend," the indictment alleges.

A federal grand jury indicted Hamilton this week. The indictment was first reported by the Daily News of Jacksonville.

Hamilton's claim for service-connected compensation also included the false statements that he was extensively honored for his performance in battle by receiving two Navy Crosses, the second highest award for valor. He also claimed to have earned three Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars, and eight Purple Hearts.

Hamilton is accused of embezzlement for receiving more than $30,000 in disability payments in the past three years for service-related ailments.

Hamilton does not have a listed telephone number and could not be reached by the Associated Press on Friday. The attorney who represented Hamilton on earlier charges of wearing a Marine officer's uniform and rows of medals did not return a call to the AP.

The indictment also includes charges similar to those Hamilton already faced: that he wore a Marine colonel's dress blue uniform and medals during a military recognition day ceremony in April in Jacksonville, which adjoins Camp Lejeune. It is a federal offense to claim or wear military decorations and carries punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine.

An affidavit filed by Camp Lejeune investigators who searched Hamilton's home in April said the highest rank he attained was private first class. Hamilton served nine months and was discharged in February 1962, according to the affidavit. It said his only decoration was a rifle qualification badge.

Hamilton pleaded guilty last year to altering a military identification card to represent himself as a three-star general. He paid $100 in fines and was sentenced to six months probation in a plea agreement.