Friday, January 10, 2025

Man Who Posed as Hero Marine Is Sentenced

During a visit to Coronado Island near San Diego, he posed as a master gunnery sergeant and later posted a photo of himself in uniform.

SAN FRANCISCO (March 15) — A Palm Springs bank employee who posed as a highly decorated Marine lieutenant colonel at his high school reunion was sentenced today to a year of probation and ordered to undergo mental health counseling.

During a court hearing in Riverside, Steven Douglas Burton also was ordered to pay a fine of $250 by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips for wearing a medal he did not earn.

Burton, 39, who wore a full-dress uniform with a prestigious Navy Cross, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star to his school reunion in Martinez, was unmasked by a former classmate who was a Navy commander and became suspicious when she saw his stunning array of medals.

Burton never served in the military but bought uniforms and at least 15 medals online and at military stores. He pleaded guilty in December to one misdemeanor count for the unauthorized wearing of a military medal.

He had been facing up to a year in prison and a fine of $100,000 under the federal Stolen Valor Act.

Read the entire AOL News article here.



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Coronado Times Staff
Coronado Times Staff
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