Cornwall man convicted of stolen valor in US

A Cornwall, Ont., man faces two years in prison for violating the US Stolen Assets Act by falsifying his military discharge certificate and claiming he was awarded medals he didn’t receive, including a Heart Purple.

According to one US Attorney’s press release in upstate New York, Randall J. Montour, 45, admitted to altering his discharge papers to say he received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force and earned honors including medals, badges and ribbons he did not receive.

The district court said Montour claimed he was awarded a Purple Heart, a medal that honors those wounded or killed in action.

According to the court, these claims were fabrications and he was sentenced last month after pleading guilty in February.

Dismissed for bad conduct

The court said military records revealed Montour received a “bad conduct discharge” from the Air Force in 2001 and was awarded only the Air Force Training Ribbon during his service.

The court had previously said he was court-martialed in 2000 for impersonating an officer and making threats, resulting in his dismissal.

As part of his guilty plea, Montour admitted he used his altered documents to purchase license plates indicating he was a Purple Heart recipient and affixed them to his vehicle.

He also appeared at veterans events wearing the U.S. Air Force uniform of a noncommissioned officer, a rank he never attained, while wearing medals and other honors he had not earned, according to the district court filing.

Montour was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.

While Montour lives in Cornwall, the Northern District of New York will oversee his probation and he is expected to perform community service in that region, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.