A Pennsylvania man who reportedly runs a business picking up dog droppings has apparently stepped into a major mess of his own making. According to federal prosecutors, he used forged documents to pretend to be a Secret Service agent to score a discount hotel room and then to try to get out of a traffic violation.
According to an indictment [PDF] filed earlier this month in a federal court in Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh-area man allegedly used some overseas service to obtain fake Secret Service ID with his name and photo. Then this past June, he used that ID at a hotel, telling the manager he was a Secret Service agent and requesting a discounted government rate for his room.
A month later, prosecutors say he produced this same fake ID when confronted by a local police officer. According to the AP, this occurred at a traffic stop. The officer who pulled the man over reportedly suspected something was off about the ID, and took a photo of it to show to someone he knows to be an actual Secret Service agent.
Also, according to the AP, the suspect is the operator of a business called Doodle Scoopers, a company whose site declares “We pick up the pet waste and take it with us.”
The defendant faces charges of conspiracy, using false government badges, and fraudulent official seals. If convicted, he could spend as many as 15 years behind bars. He entered a not guilty plea earlier today, and was ordered released today on a number of conditions, including that he surrender his passport and that he not leave the court’s jurisdiction.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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