![\"Shane-Sperow\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Shane-Sperow-500x281.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nLast week, we talked about Shane Sperow<\/a> who told the judge that he was a Marine Corps hero of the war against terror in order to get his sentence reduced for a fraud case in which he was guilty. The judge fell for it, but the prosecutor had his doubts about it. The Reading, Pennsylvania Eagle<\/a> followed up on the story;<\/p>\n The St. Lawrence man claimed he served more than a dozen deployments as a Marine sniper, earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star and risked his life to save four others in Iraq.<\/p>\n And as is usually the case when veterans tell their war stories, most people believed him.<\/p>\n After all, who would make up such things?<\/p>\n But Sperow’s downfall came when his fictional tales of bravery reached detectives with the Berks County district attorney’s office, who are among the few who could gain access to military records that would expose him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The detectives were curious because Sperow got his sentence significantly reduced from what the prosecutor had asked for, so they contacted the Marine Corps which could find no service for the crook. We’ve seen less diligent prosecutor offices, for example Charles Chavous<\/a> told lies and presented the court with a forged DD214 (discharge certificate) about his service in Vietnam to score a sentence of five years probation for his part in a murder. Sperow did the same thing;<\/p>\n According to court documents, Sperow gave his attorney a detailed listing of his deployments, providing dates, locations and even special schools he attended in his phony 14-year career.<\/p>\n He also provided a letter from friends who spoke of his service and a resume that contained his years spent with the Marines.<\/p>\n When authorities searched Sperow’s home, they found several uniforms and a fake honorable discharge certificate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I guess we’d never expect a criminal to have friends who would lie for him.<\/p>\n Here at TAH, we’ve had employers contact us to check on prospective employees for them when they get documentation that doesn’t sound right – but usually those employers are veterans, too. Thomas Michael Good<\/a>, also from Pennsylvania, was one of those. The process takes a long time, usually more time than the employer wants to invest. Most employers want to hire veterans, but these phonies make it difficult for them to do the right thing that they want to do.<\/p>\n Like the Eagle says, the phonies put more time and effort into their lies than they put into being good citizens.<\/p>\n I commend the prosecutors for their diligence in the Sperow case, it’s not often we see that kind of commitment. Sperow is going to pay a price for his lies though;<\/p>\n Sperow was charged last Monday with writing a false statement and forging or altering documents for the phony information he provided to his lawyer, John Elder, to present in court.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"