Two Colonels + One Paternity Test = Fraud

[knapplc]

Are you kidding me? The stupidity of this scheme blows my mind. And you'd think after climbing the ranks in the military that these guys would know better.

Please, please tell me this isn't a sign that our military is getting dumber. This could actually be kind of scary...

Army Colonels Team Up To Trick Paternity Test, DA Says



CARLISLE, Pa. -- Two high-ranking U.S. Army officers are accused of teaming up to deceive a paternity test so one of them could avoid making child-support payments.

Officials said Col. Scott Carlson was a student at the Army War College in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pa., when a woman in Virginia sought an increase in the private child support payments he'd been making for their 9-year-old daughter. In March, Carlson went to the domestic relations office in Cumberland County to deny paternity and was told he would have to submit a DNA sample to show that he was not the father, officials said.

A month after that, officials said Carlson convinced Col. Bruce Adkins, who was also a student at the War College at the time, to pose as him and provide the DNA sample. The paternity test came back negative, but workers at the domestic relations office caught on to what was happening, officials said.

"Personnel at domestic relations, after Adkins left, sort of in a sense looked at each other and said, 'That wasn't the same guy that came in (before),'" said Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed. "(The employees) went to a supervisor and that kicked off the investigation."

Officials said a fingerprint test was given to both men and that revealed the fraud. Officials also said the reason Carlson tried to get out of making the child support payments was because he was trying to keep the situation secret from his wife and children in Pennsylvania.

Charges have been filed against both men. Carlson is charged with fraud, tampering with or fabrication of physical evidence, tampering with public records, obstruction of the law, criminal conspiracy and solicitation, forgery, tampering and theft by deception.

Adkins is charged with fraud, tampering with or fabrication of physical evidence, tampering with public records, obstruction of the law, criminal conspiracy, forgery, tampering and theft by deception.

If convicted, the men face the possibility of prison time. Carlson is currently in Egypt. Adkins is at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Ga. He is expected to turn himself in the coming days.

Both men finished their time at the War College in June.

[Metroid]

Officials also said the reason Carlson tried to get out of making the child support payments was because he was trying to keep the situation secret from his wife and children in Pennsylvania.

Uhhhh yeah that didn't work out too good did it?

What an idiot, seems like it would have been much easier to try and hide a child support payment from your wife, he'd already been doing it for 9 years it sounds like.

[knapplc]

That line you quoted was the one that made me post this story. Fraud is one thing, but he did it because he's trying to hide his infidelity - that's really funny.

[Metroid]

That line you quoted was the one that made me post this story. Fraud is one thing, but he did it because he's trying to hide his infidelity - that's really funny.

Was it infidelity though? I suppose we could assume that. Maybe a woman he was involved with before his marriage? I dunno doesn't matter either way, trying to hide something like this from your family by committing several felonies is just plain idiotic.

[Tiki]

Hah...I can just get a half-laugh out of people's sheer stupidity these days!