Marine Pleads Guilty to Faking Hero Status

Crime Nov 3, 2009

Marine Corps sergeant David Budwah pleaded guilty on Wednesday to faking post-traumatic stress disorder and pretending to be an injured hero of war in order to get free tickets to sporting events and concerts.

At a court-martial hearing in Quantico, VA, Budwah pleaded guilty to charges including making false statements, misconduct, and malingering. If convicted, he faces up to 8 ½ years in prison, a dishonorable discharge, and a reduction in his rank.

Budwah was never deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq as he claimed to be, lied about helping in the 2004 tsunami relief efforts, and never earned the medals and ribbons that he wore on his uniform.

His lies of being an injured hero got him into at least 13 different events last year, including concerts, sporting events, and banquets. He also received a laptop computer and personal digital assistant from the Soldiers’ Angels, a program that helps wounded soldiers.

During the time period that Budwah claimed to have been fighting in Afghanistan, where he was allegedly injured, he was actually serving with a radio communications unit in Okinawa, Japan. After that he worked as a store clerk in Quantico.

Leave a Reply

Dan Campbell

Dan Campbell made a good living as a real estate agent for 15 years...until the housing market collapsed and he lost his job. After being out of work for 6 months, he decided to try something new. Now he makes more than $75 an hour working from home for big companies like Apple, Microsoft, Calvin Klein, and more. Learn more...

Step 1:
Visit Home Job Placement

Step 2:
Sign Up (it’s super quick & simple).

Step 3:
Follow simple instructions.

Step 4:
Start making money immediately!

Wage War on the Recession

BREAKING NEWS

CNN.com - Crime

  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:57:54 EST
    Michael Jackson's doctor has surrendered and pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaghter in connection with the pop star's June 25 death.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:37:34 EST
    To prove involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors will have to convince jurors that Michael Jackson's doctor took risks he shouldn't have -- and that other doctors wouldn't have, legal experts say.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:44:03 EST
    A woman convicted in the 2002 kidnapping of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart pleaded guilty in the attempted kidnapping of Smart's cousin a month later, court officials said Monday.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:02:37 EST
    Dean Cage and Loretta Zilinger, the woman who wrongly accused him of rape, are the most unlikely of friends.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:01:24 EST
    Basil Abdul'Faruq and his brother, Jamal, begged their mother to let them go outside to play. It was spring break, April 16, 1990, and the boys wanted to join other kids in their Richmond, Virginia, neighborhood.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:05:49 EST
    A group of Americans accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children had authorization from neighboring Dominican Republic to bring the kids across the border, a lawyer for the group said Monday.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00:41 EST
    Three people were shot amid celebrations surrounding the New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl win, police said Monday.
  • Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:44:04 EST
    Volunteers also work Miami's streets to provide alternatives to girls working as prostitutes on Super Bowl weekend.

WSJ.com: Law Blog

  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:40:25 GMT
    The Law Blogrecently chatted with author Philip Howard about his new book "Life Without Lawyers."
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:02:22 GMT
    The Law Blog rounds up a variety of hearings going on in Lower Manhattan, including a hearing in front of federal judge Jed Rakoff on the SEC/Bank of America settlement.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:54:46 GMT
    Law firm partners are increasingly making like associates and bolting at the first whiff of greener pastures.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:31:11 GMT
    The U.S. Supreme Court, without explanation, recently granted the NRA's request to give its attorney time at oral argument in a huge case pending later in the term. The court sliced the lead attorney's time by a third and gave it to the NRA and its recently hired attorney, Paul Clement, the former Solicitor General.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:22:51 GMT
    According to the S.F. Chronicle, the biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. What to make of that fact?
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:33:53 GMT
    Britain's BAE Systems late last week reached settlements totaling almost $500 million with the DOJ and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office to resolve longstanding corruption allegations.
  • Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:09:35 GMT
    Democrats gearing up for a possible Supreme Court vacancy are debating a fundamental issue: whether President Barack Obama should appoint a prominent liberal voice while their party still commands a large Senate majority, or go with someone less likely to stoke Republican opposition.
  • Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:27:04 GMT
    The Law Blog caught up with Davis Polk partner Margaret Tahyar to talk about work/life balance. In a recent WSJ article, Tahyar advised other female lawyers to have kids at an early age.