Man Accused Of Stealing Valor A ‘Disgrace,’ Sheriff Says

LAKELAND, FL — A Lakeland man is in hot water after a tip to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office uncovered his alleged attempts to solicit money by impersonating a military officer. Kyle Christopher Barwan’s arrest on a charge of stolen valor was announced by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Thursday.

“Lying about being in the military to steal money from someone is not only egregious, it’s against the law,” Sheriff Grady Judd said following Barwan’s arrest. “It’s also a slap in the face to all the fine men and women across the nation who have served in our country’s military with honor.”

According to the sheriff’s office, Barwan, 27, met a Polk County woman online during December 2016 via the social networking platform Plenty of Fish. Barwan is accused of telling the woman he was a U.S. Army major with the special forces, an arrest affidavit states. He’s also accused of saying he just returned from a 5-year deployment to Afghanistan and England.

Over the course of several face-to-face meetings with the woman, Barwan is accused of spinning a tale about his military service. The arrest report states on Dec. 23, he talked her into buying him a video game controller so he could enter into a Call of Duty tournament “to benefit one of his fellow soldiers who was killed in the war,” the report said. He’s also accused of spoofing a “US Government” caller identification on his cellphone, the report noted.

By Christmas Eve, deputies say the victim’s family became suspicious of his claims. The family reportedly had Barwan over for a celebration during which time he claimed to receive a call from the “US Government,” telling him he’d been promoted to captain.

“The victim’s family members, who have prior military service, became suspicious of Barwan’s claims/stories,” the report said. That suspicion led the victim to do an online search for Barwan, which reportedly turned up past arrests for posing as an officer.

When the victim notified Polk deputies of the allegations, a detective pulled Barwan’s military record. As it turned out, he did serve but only for a few months and was discharged from the Army National Guard of Kentucky as a private 2nd class, the report said.

“These records prove that Barwan is no longer affiliated with the Army/Army National Guard, is not an Officer, was never deployed, and was never injured in the line of duty,” the report said.

Detectives also turned up past arrests on similar charges in Kentucky and Illinois.

Barwan was brought into custody on Jan. 25 in Hillsborough County. He is expected to be transferred to Polk in the near future.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Jail