A Marine veteran who lied about his military service to get assistance from a local charity was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in jail, according to a spokeswoman for the commonwealth’s attorney.
According to The Virginia Pilot, Brent Joseph Henry also was ordered to pay over $2,878 in restitution, a large portion of what he received in services and donations from Wags for Warriors of Virginia.
Henry pleaded guilty in September to obtaining money by false pretenses, according to online court records.
Wags for Warriors of Virginia is a nonprofit organization that assists local veterans who suffer from physical and psychological injuries as a result of military service, often by providing them with service dogs.
The charity made arrangements to train a dog that Henry owned to be a service animal, spending $2,420 in training. It also paid $458 for veterinary services.Henry told a the charity that he was a K9 handler who deployed to Iraq seven or eight times, was injured in a military helicopter crash and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Henry told a the charity that he was a K9 handler who deployed to Iraq seven or eight times, was injured in a military helicopter crash and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
He also repeatedly asked for help with medical bills and received $818 for that, the document said.
The charity representative became suspicious when Henry failed to provide documentation of his service after repeated requests for it. When the charity finally obtained a copy of his record, it showed that Henry received a bad-conduct discharge from the Marine Corps in 1998, having never served in combat. It also stated that he had never been a K9 handler, been involved in a helicopter crash or received the medals and awards he claimed to have earned.
Wags for Warriors could not be reached for comment.
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