Feds: Man dressed as Marine, wore Navy Cross

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By Brian Indrelunas - The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun via Gannett News Service
Posted : Thursday Nov 12, 2009 12:09:56 EST

A California man who prosecutors say wore military uniforms and medals but never served in the armed forces has been charged with unauthorized wearing of military medals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

Contacted at his Palm Springs home Wednesday morning, 39-year-old Steven Burton declined to comment on prosecutors’ allegations that he wore awards including the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart.

Prosecutors have not determined if the decorations are actual medals issued by the military or counterfeit replicas, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Akrotirianakis said federal law prohibits the unauthorized wearing of both real medals and what the law calls “colorable imitations.”

An FBI investigator also said Burton blogged about being a Marine, writing about combat in Fallujah and saying he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Burton was expected to appear Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Riverside, prosecutors said. He is expected to enter a plea at the initial court appearance.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the misdemeanor charge on Friday. If convicted, Burton could be sentenced to up to one year in federal prison.

In an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant application, FBI Special Agent Akil Davis wrote that a Navy commander saw Burton at her high school reunion earlier this year wearing a Marine Corps uniform indicating the rank of master gunnery sergeant and various medals.

The commander was suspicious and asked to take a photograph with Burton, which she later gave to the FBI, Davis wrote. The commander and Davis also checked with the Navy and learned that Burton had not been awarded the Navy Cross and was not a Marine or a member of any other branch of the U.S. military, according to the affidavit.

Davis’ research turned up Burton’s blog, where had had posted another photo of himself in the Marine uniform, according to the affidavit.

Read Akil Davis’s affidavit

Read the charges against Burton

Courtesy of U.S. Attorney's Office Steven Burton, 39, is seen in a photograph that prosecutors say the Palm Springs resident posted on the Internet. An affidavit from an FBI agent said Burton wore a Marine Corps uniform and a number of medals although he did not serve in any branch of the military.