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Stolen Valor: Flathead jury orders fake Marine to pay $1.7 million in fraud case
TOPICAL
STOLEN VALOR | FLATHEAD VALLEY
Stolen Valor: Flathead jury orders fake Marine to pay $1.7 million in fraud case
SEABORN LARSON seaborn.larson@missoulian.com 21 hrs ago
A Virginia man masquerading around the Flathead Valley for many years as a former U.S. Marine, infiltrating the local Marine community and using that guise to procure a quarter-million-dollar investment from a successful businessman, was ordered by a jury on Tuesday to pay $1.7 million for the fraud. ... His victim, Don Kaltschmidt, of the Don K auto dealerships in Whitefish, said he won't likely see a dime of the damages awarded to him in Flathead County District Court on Wednesday. But, as a former Marine, Kaltschmidt said it wasn't about the money.
Laron "D" Shannon had done more than gone to group meetings; search his name in Google and see he's received plenty of recognition for his alleged military service. ... "We were finally able to hold him accountable for what he has done, which is basically stolen the valor of every man and woman that's ever served this country," Kaltschmidt told the Missoulian in a phone interview Thursday.
It was in February 2014 that Shannon came to him, having become acquainted through the local veterans community, with an investment opportunity. The swindle: Oil Field Warriors, a business that would employ veterans to clean oil rigs in North Dakota and eastern Montana. Kaltschmidt, who had been charitable with other veterans' organizations, invested $250,000 for a quarter-stake in the business. ... But, according to a judge's order filed last August, the company never generated any revenue or obtained any contracts to wash oil rigs. By June, four months after Kaltschmidt's investment, Oil Field Warriors began moving toward dissolution. Less than $30,000 of the investment remained in the accounts. Kaltschmidt sued Shannon for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.
The con reportedly didn't end there. Since being sued, Shannon went through three lawyers and a fourth who never made a motion on Shannon's behalf. The Friday before the trial was set to begin last year, Shannon filed for bankruptcy in Virginia, which put a hiatus on the lawsuit back in the Flathead. Meanwhile, in March he was quoted in the Liberty Champion's coverage of the Conservative Political Action Conference at Liberty University, in which he is described as a Marine veteran.
....
STOLEN VALOR | FLATHEAD VALLEY
Stolen Valor: Flathead jury orders fake Marine to pay $1.7 million in fraud case
SEABORN LARSON seaborn.larson@missoulian.com 21 hrs ago
A Virginia man masquerading around the Flathead Valley for many years as a former U.S. Marine, infiltrating the local Marine community and using that guise to procure a quarter-million-dollar investment from a successful businessman, was ordered by a jury on Tuesday to pay $1.7 million for the fraud. ... His victim, Don Kaltschmidt, of the Don K auto dealerships in Whitefish, said he won't likely see a dime of the damages awarded to him in Flathead County District Court on Wednesday. But, as a former Marine, Kaltschmidt said it wasn't about the money.
Laron "D" Shannon had done more than gone to group meetings; search his name in Google and see he's received plenty of recognition for his alleged military service. ... "We were finally able to hold him accountable for what he has done, which is basically stolen the valor of every man and woman that's ever served this country," Kaltschmidt told the Missoulian in a phone interview Thursday.
It was in February 2014 that Shannon came to him, having become acquainted through the local veterans community, with an investment opportunity. The swindle: Oil Field Warriors, a business that would employ veterans to clean oil rigs in North Dakota and eastern Montana. Kaltschmidt, who had been charitable with other veterans' organizations, invested $250,000 for a quarter-stake in the business. ... But, according to a judge's order filed last August, the company never generated any revenue or obtained any contracts to wash oil rigs. By June, four months after Kaltschmidt's investment, Oil Field Warriors began moving toward dissolution. Less than $30,000 of the investment remained in the accounts. Kaltschmidt sued Shannon for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.
The con reportedly didn't end there. Since being sued, Shannon went through three lawyers and a fourth who never made a motion on Shannon's behalf. The Friday before the trial was set to begin last year, Shannon filed for bankruptcy in Virginia, which put a hiatus on the lawsuit back in the Flathead. Meanwhile, in March he was quoted in the Liberty Champion's coverage of the Conservative Political Action Conference at Liberty University, in which he is described as a Marine veteran.
....
