Alleged fake hero faces U.S. charges

DENVER, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A suspect has been arrested in Denver and charged with stolen valor for allegedly fabricating stories of his heroism in a U.S. Marine uniform, the FBI said.

Richard Strandlof, a former mental patient, is the first person in Colorado to be charged under the 2006 Stolen Valor Act, which provides for prosecution of people who pretend to have won military medals as members of the armed forces. He was arrested Friday, the FBI said.

Strandlof had said he was a Marine who survived the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon and survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, killing four fellow Marines. He said that explosion left him with a metal plate in his head, CNN reported.

Strandlof traveled around Colorado at the sides of politicians, speaking on behalf of veterans at the state Capitol, and formed the Colorado Veterans Alliance. The organization reported him to authorities after members became suspicious of his claims

He told CNN his real name is Rick Duncan and he was at a San Jose, Calif., homeless shelter on Sept. 11, 2001.