Man fined $45K over false distress call - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Man fined $45K over false distress call

When North Carolina resident Joe D. Mills Jr. decided to make a false distress call from his front yard last year, he probably never imagined the joke would cost him more than $45,000.

A U.S. district judge sentenced Mills to five years’ probation Tuesday in addition to restitution for the incident, which caused the Coast Guard and local rescue agencies to conduct a pointless search at taxpayer’s expense.

The distress call, made from a handheld VHF radio, to Coast Guard Sector North Carolina “fraudulently” reported “a vessel was taking on water,” according to a Coast Guard statement issued Wednesday.

Distress calls can cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“If a hoax caller is not caught, the taxpayers pay the cost of the search. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft cost about $4,244 an hour to operate, Coast Guard helicopters cost about $4,400 an hour, Coast Guard cutters cost about $1,550 an hour to operate and Coast Guard small boats also cost between $300 to $400 an hour to run,” according to the statement.