So, he has finally reaped what he hath sown! Paul Lemmen was arrested by the United States Secret Service on multiple charges of bank fraud and counterfeiting. The judge presiding over his arraignment denied Lemmen bond citing him as a flight risk. You can read Kevin Mauler’s report below. While it is of little comfort to those who were taken in by this criminal and worst of military fakes we are glad to see that he is finally being brought to justice for at least some of his crimes. And it is definitive proof that you can run but you can’t hide forever–the Secret Service has some long arms. We will be pressing the U.S. prosecutor to add the charge of impersonating a general officer–it is important for these individuals to know that they will be prosecuted to the limits of the law, especially if they commit crimes under color of uniform.

Fake general charged in fraud

By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer
ADVERTISEMENT
Story Photo
Lemmen

Paul Lemmen, who posed as a retired Air Force general to get a contracting job in Iraq, has been charged in Tennessee with defrauding two banks and passing counterfeit checks, according to federal court documents.

Over the past 10 years, Lemmen posed as a Vietnam veteran, using his faked military experience to land the contracting job.

Lemmen made at least four trips to Iraq and spent part of his time there hanging around Special Forces soldiers from Fort Bragg and making contacts with Kuwaiti businessmen.

A Fayetteville Observer story in November examined Lemmen’s past and raised questions about his service record.

In an investigation of Lemmen, the Secret Service determined that his only military service was two weeks in Air Force basic training before he was discharged for smoking marijuana.

Lemmen has an extensive record of fraud, probation violations and failures to appear in court, according to court documents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Brown ruled Wednesday at Lemmen’s detention hearing at U.S. District Court in Nashville that Lemmen was a flight risk and would not grant bail.

“The magistrate judge is firmly convinced that if this individual were released, he would be attempting to perpetrate a fraud on someone before the sun set that same day,” Brown wrote in his March 21 order.

Lemmen was arrested by the Secret Service on March 14 at his sister’s house in Nashville.

He is accused of depositing two counterfeit checks for $3.5million. One check for $2.3million was deposited in a Virginia bank and the other for $1.2 million was deposited in a bank in Nashville, Tenn.

Both checks were supposedly from an account at the National Bank of Kuwait.

The Secret Service started its investigation in June after Lemmen used a bad check from his fraudulent funds from the Bank of Kuwait to buy a $31,000 truck from a dealership near Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Lemmen was arrested by local police, and the Secret Service questioned him about the two seven-figure deposits from the Bank of Kuwait, court documents said.

Lemmen reportedly admitted during the interview with the Secret Service that the checks were fraudulent.

In September, Lemmen tried to buy 15 sport utility vehicles, claiming that he was a retired Air Force general with a contract to set up a training base in Kuwait.

The car dealer was suspicious and called the police.

Lemmen was arrested again in October. He was told by the Secret Service there were federal charges pending.

Lemmen was charged in December in a sealed indictment, but he already was on the run.

In March, Secret Service agents got an address for Lemmen’s sister in Nashville and staked out her house, according to court documents.

It is unclear if Lemmen will face charges for posing as a military officer. It is a violation of federal law to wear military decorations without authorization.

A call to his public defender and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Nashville were not returned.

A trial date has not been set.
Staff writer Kevin Maurer can be reached at maurerk@fayobserver.com or 486-3587.

Comments(2)