Academy grad netted $331K, claiming injuries in attack on Pentagon
WASHINGTON - A retired naval officer honored for helping rescue fellow Pentagon workers in the 2001 terrorist attack was sentenced Monday to 3 ½ years in prison for defrauding the Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund.
Retired Cmdr. Charles Coughlin of Severna Park claimed he was injured when objects fell on him as a hijacked plane struck the building, and again later when he went back inside to rescue others and hit his head. But prosecutors said Coughlin was not hurt and instead used an old injury to get $331,034 in compensation from the fund.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, the chief of the Washington federal court, told Coughlin that stealing that much money from the government deserves a serious sentence. He allowed Coughlin to remain free pending appeal.
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Good thing he wasn't a black man who snatched a purse with a couple of hundred dollars in it. THAT would have been a 10-25 yr stretch in the big house. BUT, a white guy stealing $300,000? HE deserves a SERIOUS sentence, you know, along the lines of 3 years or so. Out in 14 months. And gets to hang out with his family while all the appeals drag along....
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