November 25, 2025
Mikhail R. Wicker submitted false information to receive nearly $150,000 in benefits.
A Minnesota man was convicted Nov. 21 for pretending to be a Marine and a former prisoner-of-war in a veterans benefits scheme.
According to MPR News, a federal jury in St. Paul found Mikhail R. Wicker guilty of wire and mail fraud, as well as fraudulent use of military medals for his scam of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The “stolen valor” ruse resulted in the wrongful payout of over $146,000 in benefits.
Wicker, 39, claimed to be part of the Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, and that he was deployed to Iraq in 2005.
He said wounded in combat and kept as a prisoner of war in the country. He then claimed to received sniper training before getting into a car crash in Michigan. An investigation found his claims to be untrue.
Wicker was able to maintain the lie for some time by submitting false paperwork to the VA in 2016. At first, the VA did not accept his application for disability benefits as they could not verify his service. However, he used a fake DD-214 form as well as a fake certificate of honorable discharge, a Purple Heart certificate, and images he said showed him on tour in Iraq.
The false documentation went through and Wicker began receiving benefits the next year. To accentuate his scam, he joined a Facebook group for Marines. He cozied up to members, asking for details of their experience, even getting one member to verify that he served with them.
The scheme lasted for years until Wicker wanted to increase his amount in disability benefits. His lackluster letter describing his deployment and subsequent injuries led to an internal inquiry by the VA—and the truth.
While Wicker did live in Michigan at one point, he never served in the military. In fact, further documentation showed that he only worked in the retail industry, doing short stints at multiple businesses. He did get into a car crash, pleading guilty for his failure to report an accident in 2005.
The fraud became even more evident as veterans from Lima Company Marines also testified that he was not a part of their cohort.
Wicker will be sentenced at a to-be-determined date.
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