ASHLAND, Ky. — An Ashland man is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next week for producing phony military certificates and selling them online.

Clinton Douglas Salyer’s sentencing hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning.

Salyer was indicted in April on a charge of affixing fraudulent seals to military certificates. He pleaded guilty to the charge the following month.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Salyer could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined up to $250,000. However, application of those guidelines is likely to result in him receiving a lesser penalty.

As part of Salyer’s plea deal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to not oppose a motion for probation.

According to court records, Salyer came to the government’s attention in July 2010 after investigators received information regarding a veteran living in Ashland who was reportedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit military certificates such as honorable discharge certificates, military awards and training certificates from all branches of the armed services through an eBay store and through his own website, jjmilitarycertificates.com.

An agent placed an undercover order for certificates through Salyer’s eBay store, paying with a postal money order for $43.09. The order arrived about two weeks later. It consisted of counterfeit military certificates bearing forged seals of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard, records state. The order also contained advertising material indicating Salyer was the owner and operator of the business.

Salyer told investigators he had affixed approximately 2,800 bogus seals to documents and sold them, and that he’d made about $42,000 doing so.

khart@dailyindependent.com
 

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