Phony charity busted

TSO sends this link to an article about a California man who set himself up as a charity for Vandenburg AFB and claimed to be a Navy commander;

Beginning in October 2006 and running through late 2007, [James Kent Barbee, 60] collected a total of $94,130, investigators said. He would occasionally don a military uniform when meeting with prospective donors, authorities said, and reportedly had a photo of himself in uniform posted on his website.

“We learned of the Liberty Spirit after a legitimate military officer, who is also a doctor, met with Barbee to discuss the foundation,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. “The legitimate officer quickly realized that Barbee was a fake. The matter was referred to DCIS, which opened an investigation.”

This scumbag will be running around free on a puny $25,000 bond until October when he gets sentenced. The bail amount should indicate how seriously the judge takes this crime. The article says he faces 20 years in a Federal pound-you-in-the-ass prison for all of the charges against him, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that he gets less than a quarter of that.

From another article;

At least one donor gave $12,000 on the condition that the money be used to make a video about a treatment facility in Missouri for veterans with PTSD, according to the complaint.

Instead, Barbee used a large portion of the money on rent for his Carpinteria home and other personal expenditures, court documents state.

That’s why I always check out any charities before I post about them here. There are serious scumbags out there waiting to relieve you of your dough and I won’t be a part of it.

Category: Military issues, Phony soldiers