Who is Robert Earhart Jr? Man who impersonated CIA agent has a history of representing himself as federal official
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA: The Department of Justice has revealed that a Georgian man has been charged with personating as a CIA agent. Robert Earhart Jr, as per a press release on Thursday, February 9, posed as the secret agency’s “protective operational division” with a Top Secret security clearance, as he tried to schedule a meeting. He allegedly left a voicemail with the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia on January 11.
As per DOJ’s press release, a federal criminal complaint has been filed for a Columbus resident impersonating a federal agent. “Robert Earhart, Jr., 38, of Columbus, Georgia, had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Stephen Hyles at the U.S. Courthouse in Columbus today and was ordered detained by the Court. Earhart Jr is charged by criminal complaint with one count of false personation of an officer or employee of the United States,” it read. “If convicted, Earhart, Jr faces a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment to be followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Earhart, Jr was taken into custody by local law enforcement at the US Courthouse in Columbus, on February 8,” the statement further adds.
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Has Robert Earhart Jr impersonated a federal official before?
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia claims that Robert Earhart has in past played an imposter too. As per DOJ, in May 2019, the 38-year-old identified himself as an agent with Drug Enforcement Agency and tried freeing three inmates from Muscogee County Jail in Georgia. Earhart also reportedly represented himself as a Homeland Security agent, as per a press release from the US Attorney's office. The case was investigated by the FBI, with valuable assistance from the US Marshals Service and the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, according to ABC News.
Department of Justice’s record shows that an ex-DEA public affairs officer was sent to jail for seven years after impersonating a covert CIA officer in an attempt to defraud $4.4 million from over a dozen organizations.
'Serial con man'
In an unrelated case, a "serial con man," Michael Nelson started an accounting and legal services business in Florida. However, it was taken to the town by a national consumer referral website. Nelson’s online biography, which was recently removed from the website, described him as a “partner” at the company and claimed he had “over 30 years” of executive management and complex mediation experience, Click Orlando reported.