Ex-naval officer gets prison time for 9-11 fraud

Ex-naval officer gets prison time for 9-11 fraud
BY NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A retired naval officer honored for helping rescue fellow Pentagon workers in the 2001 terrorist attack was sentenced Monday to 3 1/2 years in prison for defrauding the Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund.

Retired Cmdr. Charles Coughlin of Severna Park, Md., claimed he was injured when objects fell on him as a hijacked plane struck the building and again later when he went back inside to rescue others and hit his head. But prosecutors said Coughlin was not hurt and instead used an old injury to get $331,034 in compensation from the fund.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, the chief of the Washington federal court, told Coughlin that stealing that much money from the government deserves a serious sentence. He allowed Coughlin to remain free pending appeal.

Coughlin, a 52-year-old father of four and grandfather of two, did not react to the verdict. When Lamberth invited him to speak just before delivering the sentence, Coughlin only had one thing to say: "I take full responsibility for the errors and mistakes I made."
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