DUNCAN, RICK

AKA Strandlof, Richard Glen 

 

What With the Media fascination with Strandlof???
LOS ANGELES TIMES

L.A. NOW

Southern California -- this just in

Man accused of faking record as Marine combat veteran arrested in San Diego

October 9, 2009 |  7:40 pm

A 32-year-old man accused of violating federal law by masquerading as a decorated Marine combat veteran from the Iraq war was arrested Friday in downtown San Diego.

Richard Strandlof, who used the name Rick Duncan, is charged in Colorado with violating the federal Stolen Valor Act. He was taken to the federal lockup in San Diego and faces an extradition hearing Tuesday.

For more than a year, Strandlof passed himself off as a Marine officer who received a Silver Star for bravery at the battle of Fallouja in 2004, according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office in Denver.

He allegedly told reporters and veterans in Colorado that he was a Naval Academy graduate, had deployed three times to Iraq, and was wounded by a roadside bomb and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to an FBI affidavit. He also claimed to have been awarded a Purple Heart.

If convicted, Strandlof could face a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Congress in 2005 passed the Stolen Valor Act after complaints from veterans about phonies masquerading as heroes and tarnishing the reputation of true heroes.

Confronted by FBI agents, Strandlof admitted that he had never served in the military, according to the FBI affidavit.

While posing as a former Marine captain, Strandlof gained attention as a passionate opponent of the Iraq war and an advocate for better care for wounded veterans. He formed a Colorado Springs-based organization called Colorado Veteran's Alliance.

His speeches reportedly brought tears to the eyes of audience members, particularly when he recalled losing four Marines under his command in Fallouja.

His fakery began to unravel when veterans noted that on official documents for the group he formed, his name was listed as Strandlof, not Duncan, according to the criminal charge filed by federal prosecutors. When he showed up at a veterans gathering without the medals he had allegedly received, suspicions deepened and the FBI began an investigation.

Strandlof is a suspect in a fraud scheme involving a grand prix race in Nevada, and was once convicted of car theft in that state.

After the charge against him was filed last week, FBI agents found that he had fled to San Diego. He was arrested without incident.

 

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Richard Strandlof, posing as Rick Duncan, giving a speech about the Iraq war and the needs of veterans. Credit: Associated Press

 

Man's Purple Hearts have question marks

Rick Strandlof, who posed as a veteran fresh from Fallouja, Iraq, is arrested in San Diego on Stolen Valor Act charges.

[pic same as above story]

Rick Glen Strandlof, center, at a news conference in Colorado Springs, Colo, in 2008. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $250,000 fine. (Kevin Kreck / Associated Press / October 10, 2008)
By DeeDee Correll

October 10, 2009

Reporting from Denver - A self-described schizophrenic who posed as a wounded Marine captain and advocated for veterans' causes for more than a year before he was unveiled as a fraud was arrested Friday in San Diego, federal officials reported.

Rick Glen Strandlof, 32, will be charged with making false claims about the receipt of military medals, a misdemeanor under the Stolen Valor Act, a three-year-old law that criminalizes either wearing or claiming to have a medal that one did not earn.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"He told me he had two or three Purple Hearts, and it was all a lie," said Strandlof's former friend Joe Barrera, a Vietnam veteran in Colorado Springs.

Assuming the name of Rick Duncan, Strandlof arrived in 2007 in Colorado Springs, where he portrayed himself as a veteran fresh from the battlefields of Fallouja, Iraq, still recovering from brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. He formed a veterans advocacy group and ingratiated himself with the military community, hosting events for vets and protesting the Iraq war.

Apparently, none of what he told others about himself -- from his three tours in Iraq to the metal plate in his head -- was true. In fact, Strandlof was an unemployed war protester from Reno. Court records in a 2005 car-theft conviction indicate that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Strandlof's true identity came out in May after other members of his veterans group began to investigate him. They contacted federal authorities, who had him arrested on an unrelated traffic warrant. He was jailed for about a month.

Strandlof admitted in June to his deceptions and blamed them on his mental health issues, saying he has schizophrenia. "I sometimes believe things other people know not to be true," he said.

According to an arrest affidavit, the charges against Strandlof stem from claims he allegedly made to several acquaintances that he had received a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq.

At a March 2008 meeting to discuss an upcoming fundraiser, he told the attendees the same thing. In one instance, he agreed to wear his medals at a veterans' event, but showed up without them. Questioned, he said he did not wear his Purple Heart or Silver Star because "it would appear egotistical," according to the affidavit.

Until the passage of the Stolen Valor Act in 2006, it was illegal to wear a medal one did not receive, but few were prosecuted because it was rare to catch anyone actually wearing medals, said Doug Sterner, a Pueblo, Colo., man who lobbied for the legislation and is pushing for a government database of medal recipients.

Since 2006, federal officials have prosecuted more than 50 people nationwide, all of them successfully, he said. Cases like Strandlof's have occurred all over the country and involve people of all political persuasions, Sterner noted.

FBI investigators tracked down Strandlof on Friday in San Diego, where he apparently headed after his release from jail in June.

In Colorado Springs, Barrera, despite his anger, acknowledged the contributions that Strandlof had made. "Ironically, Rick did some good for local veterans," he said.

deedee.correll@latimes.com
9news.com
Admitted veteran imposter arrested
 Jace Larson    Date last updated: 10/9/2009 6:02:52 PM
Associated Images

SAN DIEGO - 9Wants to Know has learned the former head of the Colorado Veteran's Alliance, who admitted to lying about his military service record, has been arrested by FBI agents in California.

Rick Strandlof faces a charge of "false claims about receipt of military decorations of medals."

The FBI tells 9Wants to Know Strandlof was arrested without any problems.

Strandlof gave his first jailhouse interview to 9Wants to Know in June and admitted he hadn't been truthful about his military record.

Strandlof had claimed he graduated from the Naval Academy and received a purple heart after being wounded in Iraq.

Strandlof also went by the name Rick Duncan.

Under the pseudonym of Rick Duncan, Strandlof founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance in order to lobby for veterans' issues. In 2008, he became quite popular with local Democratic politicians as he made a number of campaign appearances and was even featured in a pair of television advertisements.

Duncan told people he was wounded during the battle of Fallujah. He told people he served on three separate occasions in Iraq. He was also known as a harsh critic of President Bush's policy in the Middle East.

If convicted, he faces a year in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In plain view 

Military imposter's local presence irks former allies

by Anthony Lane

His grim-faced mug shot appeared in newspapers across the country next to words like "imposter," "fraud" and "fake." A chorus of military veterans and bloggers opined that his bogus tale about getting his brain rattled while serving in Iraq should win him prison time, if not a plane ride to the front lines and a chance to finally "walk the walk."

All of which makes it strange to see Rick Strandlof, once a prominent veterans' advocate known as Rick Duncan, calmly surfing the Internet at a downtown Colorado Springs Starbucks.

So I ask the obvious question: "What are you doing here?"

"Where else would I be?" the 32-year-old answers blithely.

I don't mention that Mexico first comes to mind, and then Louisiana. Or that in both scenarios, I imagine him with a fake beard.

Whatever you think of Strandlof and the months he masqueraded as a brain-injured veteran, the simple truth two months after his web of lies came apart is that public disgrace seems to have changed him little. As Duncan, he claimed to be a former Marine Corps captain who, after barely surviving Iraq, was inspired to help other veterans.

Now, Strandlof says he's a "mentally ill individual" who got carried away. He sees helping veterans as his "calling" but regrets that "bad things" he said — like the whopper that he was inside the Pentagon on Sept. 11 — hurt people.

"I'm gradually making apologies," says Strandlof, who claims he's now taking medications for bipolar disorder, depression and schizoaffective disorder, a mild form of schizophrenia.

One person not waiting for an apology is Hal Bidlack, the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who frequently had Strandlof at his side last year as he campaigned against U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

"I think all I would say to that guy is, 'I have nothing to say to you,'" Bidlack says.

He expresses concern that Strandlof's ruse could be used against him or other Democrats, and he sounds surprised — if not mildly annoyed — that Strandlof has returned to places like Poor Richard's, a popular downtown hangout for progressives.

"I don't understand why he wouldn't go where he's unknown," Bidlack says.

Despite the attention and resentment his case attracted, Strandlof claims people "don't walk by and point." And he's not worried the FBI is about to arrest him, either for claiming false military heroics or embezzling donations to the Colorado Veterans Alliance, the now-defunct nonprofit he was trying to build.

"I haven't heard word in weeks," Strandlof says. (Special Agent Kathy Wright, an FBI spokeswoman in Denver, says the investigation is "ongoing.")

After being outed as a fraud in May, Strandlof spent three weeks in jail on a misdemeanor traffic charge, apparently unable to post bail. Now, somehow, he seems quite comfortable, using a new-looking computer and sipping a coffee drink. Strandlof refuses to say where he's getting money, but reiterates his claim that he never kept donations for himself.

Dan Warvi, who found holes in Strandlof's story while working on the Colorado Veterans Alliance, marvels that Strandlof, always destitute in the past, now seems to have at least moderate means as he hangs around in plain sight.

He sounds a note of caution in an e-mail: "I wouldn't believe anything he says on anything."

— lane@csindy.com
May 13, 2009 - 2:0

The leader of a statewide veterans group who fought for homeless veterans in Colorado Springs is in jail in Denver today, unmasked as a former mental patient who posed as a wounded Marine officer and 9/11 survivor.

The man who called himself Rick Duncan - purportedly a former Marine captain and 1997 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy - is in fact 31-year-old Richard Glen Strandlof, a former mental patient who never served in the military and falsely claimed that he was in the Pentagon during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to David Walsh of the Colorado Veterans Alliance (CVA), which Duncan founded.

Walsh, who joined the board of CVA at Duncan's request last year, said his colleagues in the organization grew suspicious of Duncan after discovering "significant inconsistencies" in his personal story.

In a search of the Colorado Secretary of State's Office records, for example, they found that the name Colorado Veterans Alliance had been reserved by "Rick Strandlof," whom they had never met, Walsh said.

While probing Duncan's past, Walsh said, the group found evidence that he was a patient in a mental hospital in Washoe County, Nev., at the time of the roadside bombing in Fallujah, Iraq, that Duncan claimed left him severely wounded.

The group contacted the FBI field office in Denver, which began investigating in early May and arrested Duncan Tuesday night in downtown Denver on a traffic warrant originating in El Paso County.

"We were all taken aback," another CVA board member, David Warvi, said.

Calls to the FBI today were not immediately returned.

Strandlof is in custody at the Denver County jail in lieu of a $1,000 bond. He is wanted in El Paso County for failing to appear in court on a charge of driving with a suspended license.

El Paso County Sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said Strandlof will be sent to Colorado Springs to appear before a judge unless he posts bond in Denver.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver knew Strandlof by name, but said he couldn't confirm or deny whether Strandlof is under investigation.

According to Walsh, federal authorities are looking into fundraising by Duncan conducted under his real name of Strandlof in Nevada. He purportedly raised $25,000 during a New Year's Eve event near Reno, Nev., on Dec. 31, 2006.

Last year, Duncan drew headlines in Colorado Springs - including in The Gazette - by threatening to sue the city unless it suspended city-sponsored cleanups of homeless camps that Duncan claimed were victimizing veterans.

The city suspended the sweeps in October and is still sorting through legal issues related to the cleanup campaigns along the city's creek beds.

Duncan also told his story in televised advertisements for Sen. Mark Udall and Hal Bidlack, a retired Air Force officer who lost his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado's 5th Congressional District as the Democratic nominee last year.

Bidlack told The Gazette Wednesday that he never had a reason to check out Duncan .

"We didn't ask him, ‘You say you were a veteran, show me your ID card.' We just don't do that," Bidlack said.

He said he feared Duncan's being exposed as a sham will detract from much-needed efforts to improve services for wounded veterans.
The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., said the school has no record of a 1997 graduate named Rick Duncan.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Amy Malugani said there is no record of Duncan or Strandlof ever having served in the Marines, and the unit he claimed to have served with in Iraq doesn't exist.

Duncan proved to be a popular spokesman on veterans' issues. He is quoted in stories as recently as March, when he was interviewed by The Denver Post about a measure before the state General Assembly to cut tuition for veterans.

Among his claims were that he served in the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The duality of that day, the good and the bad that I saw that day, are forever etched in my mind and in my memory," Duncan told KOAA television in an interview last year marking the anniversary of the attacks.

The Gazette quoted Duncan on issues concerning homeless veterans. The Colorado Springs Independent profiled him and quoted Duncan as an expert on PTSD.

On YouTube, Duncan appears in desert camouflage talking about his "wounds."

"I was involved in an IED explosion that killed four Marines," Duncan said. "I have a plate roughly the size of a like cup and saucer on this portion of my skull."

In the video, Duncan also claims to have had a hip replacement and to have "had a finger blown off." Walsh, of CVA, noted that Duncan has all 10 fingers.

More than his injuries, Duncan was fond of talking about his mistreatment by Defense Department officials, saying they dragged their feet on giving him a disability retirement.

Warvi said there will be a meeting in Denver today to remove Duncan from his seat as the group's executive director. The group wants to continue its work fighting on behalf of veterans in Colorado, including efforts to find transitional housing in Denver.

The group has not conducted organizational fundraising to date but worries that Duncan may have been involved in "personal activities" that have not yet come to light, Warvi said.

Pam Zubeck of The Gazette contributed to this story.

=====================================================

http://www.gazette.com/articles/strandlof-54140-veterans-sterner.html
Web dating site depicts bogus Marine as hero

May 15, 2009 - 6:37 PM
LANCE BENZEL
THE GAZETTE

On a Web site called Connexion.org, a profile that appears to be that of Marine imposter Rick Strandlof mimics the kind of Web pages posted by privates and officers alike to document their lives in war......

========================================================

 

Local veterans advocate exposed as impostor

Story By: Susan Davies
Source: KOAA

Published Wed May 13, 2009, 09:47 PM MDT
Updated Thu May 14, 2009, 05:41 AM MDT

He was a local activist  for veterans issues who claimed to be a 9-1-1 survivor. He said he was a marine captain serving three tours of duty in Iraq and wounded in the line of duty. But federal investigators say he lied about all of it - even his name. 

The man we knew  as Rick Duncan was an advocate for homeless veterans. He started the Colorado Veterans Alliance. But  fellow veterans say he was really 31 year old Richard Strandlof - a former mental patient who never served in the military.

Local veterans became suspicious of Standlof's stories  and asked the FBI to step in.  He was arrested Tuesday night in Denver  on a traffic warrant in connection with a violation in El Paso County. Members of Colorado Veterans Alliance held a special meeting Wednesday night to decide whether or not to remove Strandlof as executive director of the organization.

Pueblo veteran Doug Sterner has exposed many impostors pretending  to be war heroes. His efforts led to the "Stolen Valor Act" in 2006. It is now a federal crime for someone to claim they are a decorated hero. He believes Strandlof broke that law by claiming to have been wounded in Iraq and thereby earning the "purple heart."

Sterner says people like Strandlof get away with fraud  because military record aren't easy to check and phony documents aren't difficult to doctor.  He adds that  the credibility of all veterans is tarnished  by just one phony hero.

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http://michellemalkin.com/

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http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=10619

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Colorado's Democrats rushed to promote the phony Rick Duncan
Examiner.com - USA
According to the Denver Sheriff's Department, this phony's real name is Rick Strandlof. He never served in the military and was actually a former mental ...

==============================================
Advocate ousted for allegedly posing as ex-Marine

By ALYSIA PATTERSON
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP)  A Colorado Springs-based veterans organization has voted to disband after members accused its founder of fabricating an identity as a former Marine captain who served three tours in Iraq and was at the Pentagon on 9/11.
Richard Glen Strandlof, 32, who used the name Rick Duncan, founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance about two years ago. Major Carl Redding, spokesman for the U.S. Marines, said there is no record of Richard Glen Strandlof or Rick Duncan serving in the Marines.
The accusations were first reported by The Gazette.
Strandlof's grandfather, Richard Kenneth Strandlof of Dayton, Mont., also said his grandson never served in the military.
Alliance Spokesman Dan Warvi said, "We feel his actions permanently damaged the reputation of Colorado Veterans Alliance to the point that no future efforts can go forward."
Police arrested Strandlof Tuesday night on an outstanding traffic warrant from El Paso County. He is in custody at Denver City Jail on $1,000 bond.
Strandlof declined an Associated Press request for an interview made through the Denver sheriff's office.
Strandlof was quoted as Duncan — a wounded veteran and advocate — by numerous news media organizations, including The Associated Press, and was featured in a commercial sponsored by a veterans' group on behalf of Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat from Colorado.
"We're sorry this happened," Udall spokeswoman Tara Trujillo said. "We hope it doesn't have a negative impact on all the veterans still working to raise awareness."
Strandlof also brought attention to the plight of homeless veterans in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs city council member Jerry Heimlicher said, "He acted as a spokesperson and was responsible for good things happening for the homeless veterans."
Strandlof lived with his grandparents in Montana as a teenager.
"He could have been really brilliant. I think he was a child prodigy," the elder Strandlof said, adding that Rick would use the Internet to create aliases and fake identities. "It was amazing the stuff he would come up with - that he had a Ph.D. from Europe. And people would believe him!"

============================================

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_12537680?source=commented-

Many faces of 'fake vet' Rick Strandlof exposed

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The story of the Marine who wasn't - JULY 2009
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
 He spoke over a video link, his dark brown hair still cut in the buzz that was part of his military persona. As a child, Strandlof said, he had the same ...

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http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/won-over-by-a-phony-warrior-veterans-felt-they-had-an-ally-in-a-retired-marine-but-he-turned-out-to-be-a-fraud-by-deedee-correll/

Won Over By A Phony Warrior Veterans felt they had an ally in a retired Marine. But he turned out to be a fraud.
By DeeDee Correll

Los Angeles Times
July 8, 2009
Pg. 1

Column One

Won Over By A Phony Warrior

Veterans felt they had an ally in a retired Marine. But he turned out to be a fraud.

Phony Combat vet is Freed
July 16, 2009
The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.

A man who posed as a wounded Iraq war veteran walked out of the El Paso County jail in Texas free on Tuesday.

Richard Glen Strandlof -- who went by the name of Rick Duncan -- was released several hours after pleading guilty to unrelated charges of careless driving and not having a driver's license.

For his plea, a judge sentenced him to a $150 fine and 20 days in jail, plus one year of unsupervised probation. Strandlof had already served 21 days.

Using the Duncan alias, Strandlof had served as a leader of a statewide veterans group until three weeks ago, when he was exposed by other members of the group as a former psychiatric patient. His often emotional stories about being a wounded Marine captain and 9/11 survivor proved false.

FBI agents investigating the case arrested him three weeks ago on an El Paso County traffic warrant. Unable to post $1,000 bail, he had been in custody ever since.

Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit with a short haircut, Strandlof started the day by entering his plea before El Paso County Judge Jonathan Walker.

His public defender asked Walker to waive the usual court costs, noting that Strandlof didn't have much money.

"I don't believe you're being held on anything else, so you should be released," Walker said.

Although FBI agents made the initial arrest, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado has refused to confirm or deny whether Strandlof is under any federal investigation.

As Rick Duncan, Strandlof founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance, a group that worked to find transitional housing for homeless veterans.

The group disbanded in the wake of the revelations of Strandlof's fake military history, said Daniel Warvi, a former spokesman for the alliance.

"It was pretty clear how much damage he had done," Warvi said of the group's inability to go forward.

Warvi said he was disappointed that federal officials have not brought any charges against Strandlof.

"If he walks out of that jail parking lot, I think he'll disappear," Warvi said. "I would be very surprised if he stuck around."

Still no charges for accused Colo. faker

Marine Corps Times

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 1, 2009 19:38:58 EDT

It was a case of military fraud so complete it led a statewide veterans organization to disband.

Richard Glen Strandlof, 32, was arrested May 13 in Colorado on an outstanding warrant after the FBI questioned him about his purported past as a Marine captain, three-time Iraq war veteran, wounded warrior and survivor of the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon.

It was all a lie, he later admitted in a nationally televised interview on CNN. He never served a day in the military, despite presenting himself for about two years as Rick Duncan, a gay war hero who spoke frequently on behalf of veterans issues, founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance and campaigned for anti-war political candidates, he said.

Five months after he was exposed by fellow members of the alliance and arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant for driving with a suspended license, Strandlof has not been charged with any crime, including violating the Stolen Valor Act, which was signed into law in 2006 to crack down on military fakers. Despite a mountain of evidence and his own televised admission of guilt, his case remains open and under investigation, said Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado. He declined further comment.

Strandlof’s case highlights a possible loophole in the Stolen Valor legislation. Passed by Congress in 2005, it is aimed at “whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States.” It is less clear how it affects someone like Strandlof, who lied repeatedly about serving in the Corps, but apparently did not wear fraudulent medals or say publicly that he rated them, said Doug Sterner, an expert on stolen valor issues.

“Either he didn’t put his heart into his fraud, or he knew what he could and couldn’t get away with,” Sterner said. “I think it would be a very, very hard case to try under Stolen Valor.”

If federal authorities bring a case against Strandlof, it could be on the basis that by claiming he was wounded in combat, he was by extension saying he merited the Purple Heart, Sterner said. Similarly, authorities could make the case that by saying he deployed to Iraq, he was claiming by extension a decoration such as the National Defense Service Medal, which every service member currently receives for serving honorably in a time of war.

The case has frustrated veterans across the country, and spawned spirited discussion in veterans communities online. A Sept. 23 entry on the American Legion’s Burn Pit blog, questioning why he has not been charged, generated more than 120 comments, and at least a dozen bloggers took up the issue afterward.

“Here we have a guy who has admitted to lying about his service and making up stories that portray [veterans] in such a negative manner, and we can’t get our law enforcement officials at the [Justice Department] to apply the law to them,” said Mark Seavey, a former Virginia National Guardsman who wrote the blog post on Burn Pit. “But, Democrat or Republican, right or left wing, we’re going to look out for our brothers and sisters in arms and keep outing these phonies so we don’t have our honor stolen from us by charlatans like has happened in the past.”

Dan Warvi, a former Army staff sergeant who helped expose Strandlof as a fraud, said in an e-mail that he and other members of the former veterans alliance do not want to comment while the investigation is open, in case their comments somehow jeopardize the case. The organization was disbanded in May, with members saying in a statement that Strandlof’s actions had “permanently damaged the reputation of the Colorado Veterans Alliance.”

 

Phony Marine due for arrest
Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA
Strandlof is the first person to be charged in Colorado under the Stolen Valor Act. The act, passed in 2006, made it possible to prosecute military fakers ...

 

Charges filed against phony Colorado war hero

Marine Corps Times
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 2, 2009 13:31:42 EDT

U.S. authorities have charged an admitted military faker exposed by Colorado veterans this spring for lying about being a Marine captain who served three tours in Iraq, being wounded in combat and surviving the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Jeffrey Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado, confirmed Friday morning that charges had been filed against Richard Glen Strandlof, 32, but said he did not immediately know what they were. The actions come nearly five months after the FBI arrested him May 13 on an outstanding warrant after questioning him about his purported past, which he later admitted concocting.

Until his arrest, Strandlof was known in Colorado as Rick Duncan, a rising star in politics and openly gay war hero who spoke frequently on behalf of veterans issues, campaigned for anti-war political candidates running for state and federal office, and founded the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

The group came to the conclusion Strandlof was a liar after it began compiling documents needed to become a formal nonprofit organization and meeting with the office of Sen. Mark Udall, D.-Colo., said former Army Staff Sgt. Dan Warvi, an alliance member. After notifying authorities, the group agreed to set up a May 13 meeting with Strandlof and FBI agents, who Strandlof did not know would be attending.

At the meeting, an FBI agent identified himself and asked Strandlof whether his name was Duncan or Strandlof, Warvi said. His answer: “Both,” according to a statement released by CVA.

After the revelation, the group’s board of directors voted to disband their organization, saying in a statement that “we feel his actions permanently damaged the reputation of Colorado Veterans Alliance to the point that no future efforts can go forward.”

Online discussions

The case frustrated veterans across the country, and spawned spirited discussion in veterans communities online. A Sept. 23 entry on the American Legion’s Burn Pit blog, questioning why he has not been charged, generated more than 120 comments, and at least a dozen bloggers took up the issue afterward.

“Here we have a guy who has admitted to lying about his service and making up stories that portray [veterans] in such a negative manner, and we can’t get our law enforcement officials at the [Justice Department] to apply the law to them,” said Mark Seavey, a former Virginia National Guardsman who wrote the blog post on Burn Pit. “But, Democrat or Republican, right or left wing, we’re going to look out for our brothers and sisters in arms and keep outing these phonies so we don’t have our honor stolen from us by charlatans like has happened in the past.”

Authorities said this spring that they were investigating whether Strandlof had used any of the money his organization collected for his own personal gain. Authorities also investigated whether he could be charged with violating the federal Stolen Valor Act, which was signed into law in 2006 to crack down on military fakers. Passed by Congress in 2005, it is aimed at “whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States.”

Speaking on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” in June, Strandlof said he was suffering from “serious under-diagnosed mental illness” when he began his deception and was “caught up in the moment of an election and being surrounded by people who were passionate and loved what they did.”

Strandlof also said he doesn’t think he is a pathological liar and that he did not embezzle money from the veterans alliance.

“We did not take money to use on non-veterans projects,” he said. “I did not enrich myself on this. I did not gain any money from this.”

Related reading

Marine faker admits deception in TV interview

Accused marine faker pleads in traffic case

Vet advocate accused of being Marine faker

Phony Marine due for arrest

Coloradan who posed as wounded Iraq veteran being prosecuted under Stolen Valor Act
Posted: 10/03/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Updated: 10/03/2009 01:36:44 AM MDT

Rick Glen Strandlof, using the alias Rick Duncan, campaigned for several political candidates. (Denver Post file photo)

Rick Glen Strandlof, a former mental patient who posed as a wounded Marine captain to found a statewide veterans group and campaign for political candidates, is being prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act for making claims he received a Purple Heart.

A federal arrest warrant was issued Thursday evening for Strandlof, who used the alias Rick Duncan when he was acting as a spokesman for veterans issues.

Strandlof will be charged with one count of making false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals, a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $250,000 fine.

Strandlof, 32, had not been arrested as of Friday evening.

Jeffrey Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Colorado, would not say whether authorities know his whereabouts. Dorschner said only that Strandlof will be brought to Denver to appear before a federal magistrate after he is arrested.

Strandlof is the first person to be charged in Colorado under the Stolen Valor Act. The act, passed in 2006, made it possible to prosecute military fakers who make only verbal claims about earning military medals. Prior to the act, phony veterans had to be caught wearing the medals to be prosecuted.

"A lot of people wonder about the seriousness of this," said Pam Sterner, the Pueblo woman who wrote the Stolen Valor Act for a political science class. "What they don't understand is that to misrepresent yourself as someone who has earned a Purple Heart and to claim you are in the same league as someone who has sacrificed their life or lost a limb or something, that is uncalled for."

Suspicions aroused

Strandlof was exposed in May after members of the group he founded, the Colorado Veterans Alliance, became suspicious of claims that he had served three tours in Iraq, survived the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the Pentagon, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and suffered a brain injury during the battle for the city of

Rick Glen Strandlof founded a veterans group in Colorado.
Fallujah.

They searched military records and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation after determining he had never served in the military. The FBI began investigating Strandlof and arrested him in May on an outstanding El Paso County traffic warrant.

In interviews with the FBI and local and national media outlets, Strandlof admitted making up the stories. He said he suffered from mental illness. He had previously been hospitalized in a mental institution in Nevada.

People "deeply hurt"

"I think he probably is a real con artist. It's tragic. His ideas were to do good and help the vets, but people were deeply hurt by what he did," said his grandfather Richard Strandlof, a veteran who lives in Montana and said he hasn't seen his grandson in 15 years.

The investigation of the phony veteran took five months because the FBI also was investigating whether Strandlof used any of the money he collected on behalf of the Colorado Veterans Alliance for personal gain. Dorschner would not comment on what the FBI found. But there are no charges relating to the fundraising.

The Stolen Valor case against Strandlof was helped by the Internet. Portions of speeches he gave as Rick Duncan are posted on YouTube videos. In one, he claims he was wounded and lost four Marines under his command. He also claimed to have a metal plate in his head from that injury and to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.

The affidavit noted that a month before his arrest, Strandlof had agreed to appear at a veterans event wearing his medals, but he showed up without them.

When asked why, he said he did not wear them because "it would appear egotistical."

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com