PRESCOTT, Ariz. — A Prescott business owner who presented himself as a Marine Corps veteran has been sentenced to prison for lying about his military service, officials said.
John Hoyt Fullen, who had owned the American Veteran Movers company, was recently found guilty in Yavapai County of fraud and forgery.
According to the Yavapai County Attorney's Office, the defendant portrayed himself as a veteran to prospective clients and claimed to have been wounded in Iraq.
Fullen, 42, had a tattoo of the Marine Corps insignia on his arm and used a fake Purple Heart certificate to obtain Arizona veteran license plates, prosecutors said.
It turned out that Fullen had never enlisted in any branch of the military.
YCAO said Fullen misled customers and took advantage of their compassion for military veterans for financial gain.
He was sentenced Monday to spend 10.5 years in prison. Records show Fullen has previously spent time in prison.
"This crime not only defrauded Mr. Fullen’s victims, who believed their hard-earned dollars were supporting a veteran-owned business, but also defrauded the veterans in our community who run small businesses," Yavapai County Attorney Dennis M. McGrane said in a statement.
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