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Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors said a Florida man who posed as a covert Central Intelligence Agency operative has continued a similar scheme despite pleading guilty in June. Prosecutors on Tuesday requested that Garrison Kenneth Courtney's bail be revoked as he awaits sentencing after alleging attempting to again defraud a company by posing as a U.S. intelligence official after pleading guilty to wire fraud on June 11 in efforts to defraud companies of more than $4 million.
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"The government has received compelling evidence showing that even after his guilty plea, Courtney has persisted in a variation of his fraudulent scheme, by continuing to pose falsely as a government official within the United States intelligence community involved in a supposed classified program," they wrote.
Courtney, 44, faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to posing as a CIA agent and approaching companies claiming to be part of a classified "task force" to convince them into placing him on their payroll under the false claim that the government would reimburse the funds.
He was released pending sentencing after pleading guilty and resigned from a company where he had been working under the alias "Baer Pierson" after the company began the process of terminating him.
The company, which was not one he pleaded guilty to defrauding, said Courtney attempted to convince them his CIA cover was blown and contacted them under the alias "Devon Azzamoria" telling them he was arranging for the company to "read in" to a classified government program.
Phone logs showed the phone number was traced to Courtney's home in Florida.
Prosecutors said Courtney should be remanded in custody of the U.S. Marshal until his sentencing on Oct. 23.
"Courtney's brazen actions in continuing to perpetrate his fraud, even after pleading guilty and being admonished by this Court, show that there are no conditions short of detention that can protect the community pending sentencing," they wrote.
