Con men disguised as troops swindle women

[unhappycamper]

Photos of Col. Richard Bartch were copied from a Web site geared for Marine families and used in an international online dating scam.


Con men disguised as troops swindle women
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jan 19, 2008 17:51:31 EST

The reach of con artists pretending to be war-bound service members — including a Marine colonel — has proven widespread, as more women come forward claiming to have been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Using photos lifted from a Marine family morale Web site, a con artist assumed the persona of real-life Marine Col. Richard Bartch and asked women to send money to help pay for the shipment of his luggage as he made his way home from Iraq.

The photos were believed to have been copied from the Web site MarineCorpsMoms.com, site founder Deborah Conrad said.

The real Bartch, who lives in Spokane, Wash., knows all too well that his name and likeness have been used in the scam, but the nature of the identity theft limits his options.

“No one can do anything about it. Just because the guy’s using my name, there’s not any real recourse,” Bartch said. “It is a violation, but it’s not like being broken into.”


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_dating_con_080118/



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