Prescott business owner sentenced after falsely claiming to be veteran, Purple Heart recipient

Aidan Wohl, Arizona Republic
·1 min read
John Hoyt Fullen, 42, of Prescott, received a 10.5-year sentence for fraud schemes and forgery. Fullen, throughout his tenure owning and operating American Veteran Movers company, advertised the company to clients as being veteran owned and operated.
John Hoyt Fullen, 42, of Prescott, received a 10.5-year sentence for fraud schemes and forgery. Fullen, throughout his tenure owning and operating American Veteran Movers company, advertised the company to clients as being veteran owned and operated.

A man was found guilty of fraud schemes and forgery and sentenced to prison on Monday by a Yavapai County jury.

John Hoyt Fullen, 42, of Prescott, received a 10.5-year sentence.

Fullen, throughout his tenure owning and operating American Veteran Movers company, advertised the company to clients as being veteran owned and operated.

However, according to authorities, Fullen was never enlisted in the Marine Corps or any other branch of the military and misled clients about his own service for a financial advantage.

Fullen claimed to be wounded in combat in Iraq and owned a fraudulent Purple Heart certificate that he purchased in order to receive veteran license plates for his vehicles, according to a Yavapai County attorney.

“I’d like to thank the jury for their service and hope this verdict and lengthy prison sentence sends a message to anyone who contemplates falsely stealing the valor of our veterans. This crime not only defrauded Mr. Fullen’s victims, who believed their hard-earned dollars were supporting a veteran-owned business, but also defrauded the veterans in our community who run small businesses," Yavapai County attorney Dennis M. McGrane said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Prescott man sentenced for fraudulently claiming to be veteran