Simon Emilio Zablah; phony wounded soldier

One of our friends send us the story of Simon Emilio Zablah from the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Zablah is from Broward County, Florida, where he has been telling his tales for years about being a wounded soldier with a Purple Heart and a Combat Action Badge from the war against terror and he says that he’s a Federal law enforcement officer.

According to the article, he went AWOL two weeks into his enlistment.

He now faces criminal charges, including impersonating a federal officer, lying to the government, stealing credit card information and committing identity theft in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

[…]

Zablah, who is also facing a domestic violence charge in Broward County, cut off his electronic monitor in August and fled to El Salvador after federal agents tried to question him. Though a U.S. citizen, he later told some people he was planning to return to South Florida, perhaps by being smuggled through Mexico, authorities said.

Zablah blames the domestic violence charge on his imaginary PTSD, of course. His friends say that he would go away every month for a weekend, pretending that he was going to drill, actually, he was just using his uniform to scrounge feel meals and lodging from well-meaning citizens. He used his stories to find roommates and jobs. You know, until he tried to rip off everyone he knew. He also used his phony documentation to beat traffic stops.

But, you know, stolen valor is a victimless crime.

Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures