False CIA Agent Arrested

Wayne Simmons claimed to be a former CIA operative, and he has even done appearances and speaking engagements on FOX news. Federal prosecutors have come out and said that his supposed three decade long stint with the CIA never happened.

Simmons was arrested and charged with making false statements, major fraud against the United States, and wire fraud. While authorities were making the arrest, they found two firearms in his possession. Simmons has had prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Simmon's website he claimed to have served in the Navy and then he was transferred to CIA’s “outside paramilitary special operations group” and that he led “Deep Cover Intel Ops against some of the world’s most dangerous Drug Cartels and arms smugglers from Central and South America and the Middle East.” A Navy spokesperson said that didn't find a Wayne Simmons that ever served in that branch of the Navy.

A FOX news spokesperson said that Simmons was never paid for his appearances. FOX news didn't confirm how they verified Simmon's identity. However, he supposedly had a couple of interviews with the Washington Post, and he was a keynote speaker at a GOP fundraising dinner.

Due to his perpetuating stance on his CIA experience, Simmons was able to get a job from a government contractor that required security clearance. He also scammed a person out of $125,000 convincing them to make a real estate investment with him.

Comments from Allen: 
"If you're the CIA, you disavow all knowledge of anyone claiming to be a secret agent working for the CIA; it's what you do. If you're GEICO....."

As sarcastic as this sounds, this is precisely how certain scammers get away with fraudulent schemes. They create an untraceable identity, or a story which discourages others from checking into their background, and then use that fake identity for their own private purposes.

I personally obtained fraud judgments against two people, Todd Ostrovsky and Amy Ostrovsky, who scammed my clients out of money. In a very comical gesture, on the first day of trial, their attorney held in his hand two "Witness Protection Program Identity Cards," and demanded that I be prohibited from attempting to locate the actual residence of the defendants because it would compromise their participation in the federal Witness Protection Program. (there is no such thing as a "Federal Witness Protection Program" identity card; if you are actually in the program, disclosing your association with the program gets you immediately booted out of it.) These people had a habit of moving to a new location to avoid debtors, and telling their new landlord and neighbors they were in the Witness Protection Program so they would not do background checks. They did not want me to know their new address because they did not want me to be able to execute on a judgment against them.

Mr. Simmons got away with it for so long because he appeared to have a depth of knowledge about how secret CIA operations worked, beyond that of most laymen.

The question is whether this is a "stolen valor" situation with Mr. Simmons which escalated into something more, or whether the whole fake identity was an attempt to scam people from the start. Some people just crave the glory earned by heroes who have put their lives on the line for a noble cause. Mr. Simmons could not be prosecuted for claiming to be a military hero because he claimed to be a civilian working special ops with the Navy for the CIA, so he would have to have used his fake identity to cheat others out of money (fraud) or to get hired for security-clearance-required federal jobs to be prosecuted for a crime.

He is accused now of wire fraud (the defendant intentionally participated in a scheme to defraud another out of money; (2) with the intent to defraud; it was reasonably foreseeable that interstate wire communications would be used; and they were used)), major fraud against the United States (knowingly executing a scheme against the United States with the intent to defraud the United States, or obtain money or property

The bottom line here is that it is generally no crime to lie about who you are, unless you use that fake identity to get some financial benefit to which you are not otherwise entitled.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Allen Browning is an attorney in Idaho Falls, Idaho who handles personal injury and criminal defense. He has over 30 years of experience and handled thousands of cases. Allen handles cases from all over Idaho. Call (208) 542-2700 to set up a free consultation if you are facing legal trouble or you have been involved in an accident.

Also, check out browninglaw.net for more information about Allen and Browning Law.

Allen Browning can help with all personal injury claims including motor vehicle accidents,truck accidents, auto accidents, serious and disabling accidents, and wrongful death claims.

Allen Browning is an Idaho Falls attorney who can also help with drunk driving (DUI), traffic violations, Felony, Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Drug Crimes, Theft, Juvenile Crimes, battery and assault charges, Violent Crimes, and Probation/Parole Violations. He is one of the most experienced and successful criminal defense attorneys in Idaho.
Allen is able to provide his services if the incident occurs in the following Idaho Areas: American Falls, Arco, Blackfoot, Boise, Burley, Driggs, Idaho Falls, Malad City, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Salmon, St. Anthony, Twin Falls, Bannock County, Bingham County, Bonneville County, Butte County, Cassia County, Clark County, Fremont County, Jefferson County, Lemhi County, Madison County, Oneida County, Power County, Teton County, and Twin Falls County.    
Sources for more information:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/he-claimed-to-be-ex-cia-and-was-quoted-as-an-expert-on-fox-news-prosecutors-say-it-was-a-lie/2015/10/15/eb1b7818-7345-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/neil-cavuto-wayne-simmons_56229bf7e4b02f6a900c9879

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Things Lawyers Can't Tell Jurors

Image
 It is a trial lawyer's job to educate jurors, and tell them what they need to know in order to decide cases. Despite this, there are many things, true things, that lawyers are not allowed to tell jurors directly in statements to the jury or indirectly through testimony of their witnesses. Lawyers know these things, though, and I thought you might like to know some of things. #1. A lawyer can't tell the jurors anything that happened during settlement negotiations. He cannot let the jurors know, when asking them to make the defendant pay his client $100,000 that the defendant agreed to pay him $80,000 prior to the trial. The reason for this is that you want settlement negotiations to be very open. You don't want to damage a negotiation session because someone is afraid that what they say will get repeated to a jury if you don't strike a deal. #2 In Idaho, a lawyer can't tell the jurors that the defendant has insurance. In many other states, he can. Bec...
Read more

OBAMA APPOINTEE DENIES GIULIANI ABILITY TO DEFEND HIMSELF, RESULTS IN $148 MILLION JUDGMENT

Image
In the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 protests, Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay over $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers named by the former New York mayor.  What has not been explained to the general public is that there was never any trial concerning whether Mr. Giuliani had actually slandered or libeled these two persons.   In the case of Giuliani, the two Georgia election workers listed as plaintiffs in the suit against Giuliani sued him for saying they engaged in what amounted to election fraud.  They are allowed to ask the defendant ex-mayor for documents relevant to their suit and to his defense. These women brought their case against Giuliani in a jurisdiction that is heavily populated with Democrats.  They could have sued in their home state, Georgia, but did not. They wanted a jury pool of anti-Trump democrats, so they sued in Washington, D.C. They managed to get an incredibly biased Barack Obama-appointed, anti-Trump judge....
Read more

Man Framed by Prosecutor Released After 29 Years in Prison Seeking Lawsuit

Image
19 year old, Charise Kamps, was found raped and strangled to death in her apartment in June 1980. Ralph Armstrong told the police that both of them were at the apartment alone doing cocaine before leaving to go see friends around 9:30 pm. Police said that they learned that Armstrong owed Kamp's boyfriend $400 and witnesses saw Armstrong handing Kamps money that night. However, the money was not found in the apartment, and Armstrong deposited $315 in his bank the next day.The defense argued that he got the money from his brother. One of the neighbors saw a lean, muscular man about 5 feet 5 inches tall with long, dark hair drive up to the apartment. Before the identification process, the police had the witness hypnotized. He was shown a photograph of Armstrong, and After being hypnotized, the witness changed the height of the man he saw. Later at a lineup to have the witness select the man he saw, he chose Armstrong. The other people in the lineup were police officers in wigs...
Read more