Forum: Air Force Life

Fake captain receives real prison time
Andrea Weigl, Staff Writer

RALEIGH - Not long ago, Lisa Jane Phillips wore an Air Force captain's uniform while striding the campus of Meredith College. As a result, she will soon don another uniform: the khaki pants and shirt that women wear in federal prisons.

Phillips, 35, of Apex, was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in prison for impersonating a military officer for almost three years. It was such a convincing charade, complete with claims that she suffered life-threatening injuries in combat, that she took the private women's college for $42,000 in tuition. She since has repaid the college.

Starting in August 2002, Phillips went to classes wearing flight suits bearing a captain's insignia, an American flag and an embroidered name tag. Other times, she wore a uniform replete with medals: a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, even a medal given to World War II veterans. She told of flying fighters in Afghanistan and Iraq and of being wounded in action.

New details revealing how the lie began, and the extent to which she fooled Meredith officials, came out in court documents mistakenly filed publicly last week. A magistrate judge has since ordered the records sealed.

What prosecutors described as Phillips' "calculated fraud" began with a simple lie to a friend, according to Phillips' interview with a Raleigh psychologist, a report of which was included in the papers. The friend expressed admiration for Phillips' claimed military service, a degree of respect that Phillips had never experienced, the psychologist wrote.

On Monday, Phillips' attorneys told U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle that Phillips as a child suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse. She was left to live on her own at 16.

As an adult, they said, she struggled with addictions to painkillers and sleeping pills.

"I don't think she intended to dishonor or disrespect anyone in the military," said one of Phillips' attorneys, William "Woody" Webb Jr. of Raleigh. "I think she just wanted people to like and respect her."

Phillips "admitted frantic attempts to maintain the lie," buying medals and uniforms off the Internet, according to the psychological report.

Phillips was absent from school for periods in 2003 and 2004, claiming to be deployed abroad. She used a university laptop computer to send e-mail to faculty, students and staff detailing life in a war zone, according to a pre-sentencing investigation. She wrote graphic descriptions of combat and sent photos of wounded soldiers and children. She described her "war-induced anguish" and asked for prayers.

Phillips also fabricated e-mail from her commanding officer saying that she had suffered life-threatening injuries, the court records say. In follow-up messages, Phillips wrote that she had been flown home on Air Force One so President Bush could present her with medals.

While she was gone, faculty hung a Blue Star service flag, a banner displayed by military families to show a loved one is serving in the armed forces, in the college president's office.

Phillips' facade was so convincing that Meredith faculty recommended she ask the school for free tuition to reward her military service. Phillips was too embarrassed to tell the truth, the psychological report said.

Phillips received $41,178 in free tuition and, according to the pre-sentencing report, a $1,000 scholarship that came with an award: the Martha Nell Tucker Award for "attitude toward life that demonstrated the virtues of courage and self-giving."

But the college's police chief, who had served in the military, alerted authorities when he became suspicious of Phillips. Her scheme ended in January 2005 when FBI agents confronted Phillips.

A Meredith spokeswoman declined to describe what changes have been made to ensure the college will not be defrauded again.

"We are grateful to the federal authorities for their work to prosecute this case," said Kristi Eaves-McLennan, a Meredith spokeswoman.

Phillips' attorneys had argued for a lighter sentence because she has repaid the school, completed drug treatment and been sober for 18 months, lives on her own and works full time.

Before sentencing, Phillips told the judge: "I'd like to apologize to Meredith ... for what I have done."

However, prosecutors thought Phillips needed to serve prison time for her "elaborate ruse."

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hayden, a military veteran, read excerpts from e-mail that veterans sent prosecutors. According to Hayden, one veteran wrote, [b]"She sought to make herself a hero and example. I say fine -- let's make an example of her so that others will be less likely to follow suit."

Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/928/story/488113.html

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Humm ...I think we have a couple "hero's" on here! You find alot of people that are full of sh*t these days.

WoW...good article, reminds me of the kid I was in Tech School with back in 1970, after graduation I saw him at the airport as most of us were authorized our first leave, waiting to leave.

He was wearing a chest full of Ribbons, I asked him where did he get those and what the hell he was doing with them. He stated the obvious, he got them from clothing sales and liked the way they looked so he bought them and started to wear them.

I was dying laughing, the poor dumb sh*t, he was soon stopped by a "TI" and was taken away from the airport, here this guy was with One stripe and looked like Audie Murphy...too funny but it does happen.

People can be so stupid....amazing even now

Oh my God..... Doh

Quote:

Humm ...I think we have a couple "hero's" on here! You find alot of people that are full of sh*t these days.

Agree.

It 's easy to fool non-military folks. But it's much harder to do so with any vet or someone who has been around lots of military folks. I wouldn't recognize half of my ribbons because most of them get tossed in a box. Only worn my blues a handful of times since leaving actives in 84. That's what happens when you're an ANG flightline type. But I've run into a few fakers over the past few years and they get real nervous when you identify yourself as a military member. Then they get really freaked when you start asking about their past assignments. They also fall down on things that everyone in the mil has in common like "Hurry up and wait." I really enjoy running into these pukes because I love to make them squirm. Many of them use this ploy to get charity from Churches and other organizations.

Too true and they (fakes) need to be caught, jailed and embarrassed over it. Far too many good men and women fought, worked too hard and died for the real rank and awards earned over the years...

My finest and proudest moment (and I have had plenty) received....was my last official salute from my Wing Commander - thanking me for my twenty six (26) years of service to the United States Air Force and America....that said it all for me. It was hard to hear the verbal reflection of all those years serving globally, then to have to walk away after that, I still miss it, the pride, the dedication, the people, the commitment to service and country...nothing comes close.

These fakes can kiss my a$$... they deserve jail over it.

Meathook wrote:

These fakes can kiss my a$$... they deserve jail over it.

2

!!!

This Sierra reminds me of a book I read called "Stolen Valor". There are a couple of folks who go around exposing phony vets, most of them having supposedly served in Vietnam. The trend caught on in the 80s, mostly with the "Homeless Vets", mostly all of whom are fakes. The others (and really the most despicable) are the ones who either wear a uniform, badges, and medals of which none were earned, OR they are really veterans, who decide to spruce up their uniforms in order to turn themselves into "heroes".

The most overdone, and easiest to spot, are the phony Navy SEALs, and Green Berets. A-holes who watched "Rambo" too many times are what they are. It kinda makes you wish that you could've been there in her classroom when she started running her line of Bravo Sierra, just so you could turn her story around and jam it up her @$$.

It IS somewhat ironic, however, that the only uniform she ever earned was an orange jumpsuit. This thread, more than any other, IMHO, inspires my alternate sign off...

To Err is Human. To Forgive is NOT ACC Policy.

I know the ribbons and their order of precedence well enough that I have caught legitimate, active duty senior officers and enlisted personnel wearing their ribbons out of order. When this has happened, I have respectfully approached them, explained the
discrepancy to them, and asked them to check into it.

Without exception, I've been thanked for my observational skills and for noting the problem. These people in service these days
are proud to wear their uniforms and are proud to wear it correctly. If they discover a problem, they FIX IT.

I never make such claims unless I'm absolutely certain of the proper ribbon order and the person is wearing them out of order.
I don't speculate, I make sure.

CJ

Let me ask you Air Force folks a question, even though I am in the Army, I have the highest respect for airmen, I will always be infatuated with USAF and the Viper (and everything attached to it, units, drivers, fixers), with my unfortunately unaccomplished goal of occupying a Bushmaster's seat...

I do have some stuff I can wear, but I do not want to step on any toes while I am wearing the stuff. Like my CWU-45, my question is when I wear this for civilian, (if I can) I do wear authentic patches, of course no rank and a name tag without wings but a viper silhouette. Is this OK?

True, I heard a story about one fake that was brazen enough to try and convince another vet that Ho Chi Minh didn't die of a heart attack, but that two Americans were parachuted in and assassinated him. Guess who the fake claimed was one of the assassins... The kid had medals from the Seals, 101 Airborne, Rangers, and even the Green Berets. What are the chances of one person being all of those!?
Apparently the kid was barely nineteen years old, and had all of these medals and decorations from multiple services, and in the wrong places. I think it was at some convention or at a recruiting event. Shows how stupid that kid was.

This is one of the worst things anyone can do to disgrace the U.S. military Me personnally though I think they went too easy on her.

I looked in my house, and I found a newspaper I bought at the Smithsonian, and found something I only vaguely remembered. There was an incident in 1919 where an army sergeant posed as a major, and passed a bunch of bad checks and made a fair bit of money. There was a brief article about this in my little 50 Years of Aviation newspaper. Don't worry he was caught.

We had a guy in our my unit who came from the Army (nothing against former Army guys) with his BDUs full of function badges that were question able. When we checked into his military training there was no record or any training that would authorize the wear of those function badges. We called him the BX Ranger. He didn't last long and left the unit.

J. Twisted Evil

177SFSF16 wrote:

We had a guy in our my unit who came from the Army (nothing against former Army guys) with his BDUs full of function badges that were question able. When we checked into his military training there was no record or any training that would authorize the wear of those function badges. We called him the BX Ranger. He didn't last long and left the unit.

J. Twisted Evil

We don't have many "function" badges for our field uniform. Did this guy admit to not attending schools or receiving orders? I know sometimes in the Army Enlisted Records take forever to get updated. For schools like Airborne or Air Assault or aircrew member, he has to have orders in his records, not having those and wearing badges, should place him in court-martial.

Forum: Air Force Life

Fake USAF Captain gets very real prison time