SHERMAN, Texas (AP) - A Minnesota man who authorities say falsely presented himself as a U.S. Navy pilot and defense analyst has been sentenced in Texas to 24 years in prison for stealing from various women he met online.
Forty-seven-year-old Derek Mylan Alldred was sentenced in federal court Wednesday after pleading guilty in December to mail fraud and aggravated identity fraud.
He also was ordered to pay about $255,000 in restitution. The judge said he wished he could have given Alldred a stiffer sentence.
Prosecutors say a Dallas-area woman who was dating Alldred, who used the name Richard Tailor, filed a police report after becoming suspicious of him.
Investigators discovered he had charged more than $12,000 to her credit card.
Alldred is accused of impersonating a military officer several years ago in an attempt "to mislead" a woman in Woodbury, Minn. when he was using the name Richard Derek Peterson. At that time, he left several items at the woman's home, including phony uniforms, awards, a Purple Heart and a Silver Star.
They determined he had victimized at least 25 others in California, Hawaii, Minnesota and Nevada. Victims traveled from across the country to testify at the sentencing, giving emotional impact statements.
KARE 11's Lauren Leamanczyk will have more on this story, Thursday at 10 p.m.
