FBI Imposter Sentenced to 7 Years for Scamming Couple

U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange handed down a 70-month prison sentence to Michael Thetford, a/k/a Russ LNU, 37, for his role in impersonating a federal officer, interstate stalking, and tampering with a witness.

The Alabama man was found guilty by a federal jury in October 2014, following a 5-day trial in Pierre, South Dakota.

Thetford was accused of posing as a Special Agent with the FBI and visiting a married couple, William Jack Winslett and Shirley Winslett, at their rural Hughes County home on May 28, 2010. He displayed FBI and military credentials, wore a dark suit, and carried a pistol, convincing the victims he was an actual FBI agent.

Thetford informed the victims they needed to accompany him to a polygraph examination in Sioux City, Iowa, indicating they could be arrested at the end of the interview. He also asked them to produce their computers for the trip, which they did, and then drove them toward Sioux City before stopping in Humboldt, South Dakota, where he claimed to have received a cell phone call clearing them of the drug investigation.

However, it was later discovered that Thetford was using the victims for his own gain, as he had been tracked by the FBI using his travel history between May 25 and May 29, 2010. Federal search warrants were obtained for his home in Alabaster, Alabama, where numerous items of evidence were found, including fake FBI badges, fake military credentials, and pepper spray.

Thetford was eventually tracked and arrested on November 19, 2011, after fleeing on foot from pursuing FBI agents through a rural wooded area in Alabama. He was also ordered to forfeit a firearm he used during the impersonation and to pay a $400 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Thetford’s sentence will be served consecutively to his sentence imposed in a separate Alabama case, and he will also receive 3 years of supervised release.

The case against Thetford was brought as part of an ongoing effort to combat impersonation and stalking crimes, and serves as a reminder of the serious consequences that can result from such actions.