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PHONY VETERAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FRAUD -- Could get

five years in prison for making false statements to

the VA and for altering discharge papers.

 

Jesse Macbeth

 

Background here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
nf07/nfMAY07/nf052007-2.htm

Story here... http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
local/319015_phonyvet08.html

Story below:

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Iraq war 'veteran,' hero lied about it all

Man pleads guilty in court to fraud

By COLIN McDONALD
P-I REPORTER

He wasn't an Army Ranger.

He didn't earn a Purple Heart.

He didn't witness war crimes in Iraq.

The truth about Jesse Macbeth?

He's a fraud, and he's now facing prison.

Macbeth, 23, pleaded guilty in a Seattle federal courtroom Thursday to making false statements to the Department of Veterans Affairs and altering his discharge papers.

Kicked out of boot camp after 44 days, Macbeth instead portrayed himself as a decorated soldier who served in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was discharged due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

"To me it's the same thing as theft," said George Berthiaume, a local spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "It just irritating. It takes away from those who served honorably and were wounded -- it's stealing from people."

For several years beginning in 2003, Macbeth became a star of the anti-war movement by claiming he saw and participated in war crimes in Iraq.

He gave interviews to news reporters and was popular in blogs and the alternative media.

In a video that was widely distributed on the Internet, a frail Macbeth dressed in camouflage told of killing hundreds of civilians. "We would burn their bodies ... hang their bodies from the rafters in the mosque," he said.

As part of the plea agreement, Macbeth admitted he had been lying. Anti-war Web sites have pulled his video.

Macbeth never got farther than boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga.

He was discharged for his "entry-level performance and conduct prior to completion of basic training," according to court documents.

At sentencing in September, he faces up to five years in prison. He will remain in custody until then.

Before entering his plea, Macbeth told Magistrate Judge James Donohue he had been treated for mental illness before entering his plea.

His attorney, Jay Stansell, said Macbeth, however, was fit to plead guilty.

"It boosts our morale every time they catch someone," Berthiaume said. "It's probably not doing much for him, though."

 

P-I reporter Colin McDonald can be reached at 206-448-8312 or colinmcdonald@seattlepi.com.

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Larry Scott  --