Michael Allen Bradshaw, accused Iraq War vet imposter.
DULUTH, Ga. (WXIA) -- 11Alive News has brought you many heart warming stories about the generosity shown to wounded war veterans. Unfortunately, this story will probably make your blood boil.
It's about a wanted man who is taking advantage of that generosity. Even worse, he's a man who doesn't deserve it.
"This guy needs to be caught and put away for a while 'til he learns his lesson," said Richard Dain of Duluth.
He and his church are just some of the victims who know firsthand.
Dain says 33-year-old Michael Allen Bradshaw showed up at the Korean Church of Atlanta just before services began on Sunday, January 15.
He told an emotional story about being a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in Iraq when he and his Sergeant drove over a roadside bomb.
Bradshaw claimed he'd just been released from a VA hospital in Texas and that he, his wife and 13-month-old daughter were in need of money.
After being shown what appeared to be some convincing paperwork, Dain gave Bradshaw $100 in cash he had planned to use to buy his own child some clothes. He also gave him a $100 Kroger gift card. His church reimbursed him for all $200.
"He wrote out a statement saying that he would be back on this certain date and that he was going to pay us in full and work around the church to give his thanks," Dain told 11Alive News on Friday.
When Bradshaw never returned, Dain did some homework and found an 11alive.com story from last June about his arrest in Roswell for a similar scam.
That's when Dain went to Duluth Police.
"It disgusts me and...I'm ashamed that people would do something like that," he said.
Roswell Police arrested Bradshaw in June of 2011, charging him with Theft by Deception for scamming $350 from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7583.
They told police he'd even wanted them to buy him a Purple Heart medal for being wounded.
But Bradshaw got out of jail and is now free somewhere.
Meanwhile, the list of his victims continues to grow.
"We reached out to try to help him a little bit and the little bit became a little more and a little more," said Lee Duncan of Sandy Springs.
He and his church, Buckhead's Cathedral of Saint Philip, reached out to Bradshaw last year, when he came to them claiming he'd been abandoned by the Army and the VA.
The church gave him $1,200 for rent and Duncan bought him and his girlfriend about $160 worth of clothes.
When Bradshaw's requests for help continued to grow, Duncan grew suspicious.
He and some of the vets from Roswell's VFW 7583 pulled Bradshaw's military record.
It shows he was in the Army, but was dishonorably discharged in May of 2001.
He never served in Iraq and was never wounded.
At one time, Walker County and the Oglethorpe Police Department also had outstanding warrants for his arrest.
Now Bradshaw's victims hope several police agencies can work together to put him back behind bars.
"If cumulatively the police departments could get together, I think we could build a case and get this guy off the street, but evidently we're not able to do that right now," said Duncan.
Anyone knowing Michael Allen Bradshaw's whereabouts is asked to call the Duluth Police Department at 770-476-4151.