No prison time for military vet who sold bogus certificates
ASHLAND — An Ashland man who admitted to the federal crime of producing bogus military certificates and selling them online will not serve time in prison.
U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sentenced Clinton Douglas Salyer to three years’ probation for affixing fraudulent government seals to military certificates.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Salyer could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined up to $250,000. However, application of federal sentencing guidelines substantially lowered his penalty. Also, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to not oppose probation as part of Salyer’s plea bargain.
According to court records, Salyer, a military veteran and an associate pastor, came to the government’s attention in July 2010 after investigators received information about a veteran living in Ashland who was reportedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit military certificates such as honorable discharge certificates, military awards and training certificates from all branches of the armed services.
Salyer was selling the phony documents through an eBay store and through his own website, jjmilitarycertificates.com.
An agent placed an undercover order for certificates through the eBay store, paying with a postal money order for $43.09. The order arrived about two weeks later. It consisted of counterfeit military certificates bearing forged seals of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard, records state. The order also contained advertising material indicating Salyer was the owner and operator of the business.
Salyer told investigators he had affixed approximately 2,800 bogus seals to documents and sold them, and the scheme had netted him about $42,000.
Distributed by MCT Information Services
