Naval commander sent to prison for fraudulent 9/11 claim

Published December 12, 2011 5:00am ET



A retired Navy commander was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for faking an injury in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon so he could steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal victims compensation fund. Cmdr. Charles Coughlin, 52, of Severna Park, did not react when the sentence was announced Monday in Washington, according to the Associated Press. When asked by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth if he had anything to say before the verdict, Coughlin responded, “I take full responsibility for the errors and mistakes I made.”

U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen Jr. called the prison sentence a “just punishment” for Coughlin.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.