Man Indicted for Falsely Pretending to be a General Officer in the U.S. Army

RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that a federal grand jury in Raleigh has returned an indictment charging CHRISTIAN GERALD DESGROUX, age 57, of Raleigh, with  pretending to be a United States Army Lieutenant General engaged in transporting a person for a classified briefing and under such guise having asserted authority to land a helicopter at Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) headquarters, located in Cary, North Carolina – all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 912.

If convicted of this charge DESGROUX would face maximum penalties of 3 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jason Kellhofer and Eleanor Morales are prosecuting the case for the government.