Charles Schweinsberg

A man featured in the Monday edition of the Butler Eagle who identified himself as a veteran appears to have been an impostor, and was using a deceased man's name to collect items and services from the county's Stand Down event for veterans Nov. 2.

In the story “Stand Down treats veterans to services, more,” the man identified himself as Ron Wallace and claimed to be a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Shortly after the Eagle's story appeared in print, the man's story began to unravel. Multiple individuals contacted the paper to dispute the man's identity, and an investigation determined that he is actually Charles D. Schweinsberg, a 35-year-old homeless man with an extensive criminal history that spans more than a decade and includes guilty pleas to charges of simple assault, drunken driving, drugged driving and receiving stolen property.

County officials also disputed the man's identity and his account of his time in the armed services. According to the county's Veterans Services office, there is no veteran named Ron Wallace registered in Butler County. Additionally, the office said, Schweinsberg had claimed he was a member of an Air Force division, the 111th Airborne Division, that does not exist.

Not all of Schweinsberg's account was fabricated from scratch. The name Ron Wallace belongs to a Butler man who died in 2013 of an overdose, at the age of 31. Wallace's sister, Tracy Wheeler, provided the Eagle with information on her brother — who was not a veteran — and said that he and Schweinsberg had been friends during high school.

Wheeler provided the Eagle with a photograph that appears to show Wallace and Schweinsberg together on a hunting trip.

Butler County Prison also provided a mugshot of Schweinsberg from his time incarcerated at the facility.

Falsely claiming to be a veteran is known as stolen valor, and can, in certain cases, be prosecuted under a 2013 law, the Stolen Valor Act, that makes it illegal to benefit financially through lying about being a veteran.

It is unclear whether Schweinsberg's actions were illegal under the law. Organizers also said the Stand Down event was open to anyone in need — not just veterans — so it is unclear why he fabricated a story about military service and used an assumed identity at the event.

“That's typically not a problem we come up against,” said Allyson Rose, one of the organizers of Stand Down. “We trust that people who come are honest and truthful and have a need that we could meet.”

Schweinsberg also apparently used the story in an attempt to pursue other services for veterans, according to Lindsay Campbell, a housing adviser for Support Services for Veteran Families.

Campbell said Schweinsberg told her that he was a homeless veteran and arranged to meet to receive housing services. Campbell said that meeting was supposed to take place Tuesday, but Schweinsberg never showed.

Multiple attempts to contact Schweinsberg throughout this week were unsuccessful.