While thousands of injured soldiers were returning from combat, a Clayton man was bilking the government of more than $18,000 in claims for service-related injuries he never received, according to a federal jury in Virginia.

Randall A. Moneymaker, 44, who also has said he lives in Roanoke, Va., was convicted Tuesday in Roanoke on federal charges that he defrauded the government by lying about his military service and submitting false documents to support the lies.

Moneymaker's claims that he had seen combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Panama, Grenada and other locations were refuted by the government, which produced tax returns for civilian jobs Moneymaker held during times he said he was out of the country.

At one point, prosecutors argued in court that shrapnel scars Moneymaker claimed to have on his back were actually surgical scars from liposuction.

"This defendant attempted to defraud the men and women who serve and protect our freedom," U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said after a jury found Moneymaker guilty.

Brian McGinn, spokesman for Brownlee's office in western Virginia, said Moneymaker did serve in the reserves from 1981 to 1982, and he was on active duty in the Army from 1983 to 1985 before receiving a general discharge.

McGinn said there was no evidence Moneymaker had ever left the country during his service or that he was injured.

He never jumped out of airplanes with the 82nd Airborne, never served as a Ranger, never earned a Purple Heart, never suffered hearing loss or back or abdominal injuries from combat blasts -- all of which he claimed at different times, McGinn said.

McGinn said it appeared that Moneymaker was able to perpetuate the fraud for as long as he did because the agencies to which he applied for benefits relied on Moneymaker's own account of his service and injury record. McGinn said it wasn't clear how long Moneymaker had been receiving government checks.

Finally, Moneymaker applied for military retirement benefits, claiming 20 years' service.

"The only thing this defendant has lived up to is his last name," Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig J. Jacobsen told the jury, according to the Roanoke Times.

At the home that Moneymaker owns in Clayton's Riverwood development, a man who closely resembled Moneymaker's picture came to the door Wednesday night to insist there was a mix-up. The man convicted Tuesday was actually his cousin, he said.

Gladiator outfit

Neighbor Kathy Nixon said she met Moneymaker shortly after he had moved in.

"It was Halloween. He was dressed up as a gladiator. Everybody kept saying, 'Who's that dude?' And I said, 'I'm going to go meet him,' and I did. And the first thing he told me was that he was ex-military."

With his build -- at least 6 feet tall and bulky -- Nixon said it was easy to believe.

Nixon said Moneymaker later asked her whether her husband had ever served in the military, and wanted to know details about another neighbor, an N.C. National Guardsman: what unit he served in and where he had been deployed.

Looking back on it, Nixon said, "He had to be wondering who he could talk to and who he couldn't."

Nixon said Moneymaker told her he worked for a phone company in or near Raleigh. He has a daughter in the third grade who is friends with her own daughter. Nixon said she hasn't seen either of the Moneymakers in some time.

Moneymaker could be imprisoned for a maximum of 35 years and fined $1,505,000. He is out on $10,000 unsecured bond awaiting sentencing, which has not been scheduled, McGinn said.

(Staff writer Marlon A. Walker contributed to this report.)

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