MARIETTA, Ga. -- A local dispute between two foundations aimed at helping Marines now has the attention of the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS.
The Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation, named after a local Marine killed in a shooting at a recruitment center in Chattanooga, publicly parted ways with Marines and Mickey earlier this month, accusing the founder of stolen valor. Ever since, the Foundation co-founder Jason Weeks, says they've been flooded with emails, accusing Marines and Mickey of stealing much more than that.
Marines & Mickey was set up to help families spend quality time at Disney or pay travel costs to see a child at a Marine graduation ceremony. But founder John Simpson also raised money to help Marines overcome tragedies. According to the charity's 990 tax form, provided by Simpson after our story first aired, Marines & Mickey raised $96,166 in 2014 and spent almost all of it, $$95,880 on helping Marines. The charity has five board members and none of them receive any compensation for their services.
Fort Myers, Florida resident Maria Maldonado says she met Simpson when her 12-year-old son, Ethan Arbelo, was dying of brain cancer.
"I always treated him like a Marine with honor and dignity and I made him fight like one," said Maldonado.
When he died, a string of text messages show Simpson offered to help her get the foundation, Ethan's Journey, started in his honor.
"John Simpson was the Marine that went there to put his dress blues on him so that he was ready for his funeral. That's what made everything so bad," said Maldonado.
She says in the end, Simpson demanded to keep 40% of the money raised to help other families. Maldonado says even after she agreed to that, she still had to fight to get the rest of the money raised in her son's name.
Still, she admits, it's more than Jack Hughes received.
Hughes was attacked at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Airport, accused of lying about his Marine credentials. He says Simpson contacted him shortly after, offering to raise money for the falsely accused vet.
"He made you feel comfortable, he made you feel like he was there," said Hughes.
Hughes provided him photos and a bit about his life story so that Simpson could create a GoFundMe page to solicit donations. Even though it appears nearly $1,000 was raised, Hughes says he's never received a dime.
"There's a lot of veterans out there that need what he said he had to offer but he didn't come through with any of it."
Hughes says it's ironic Simpson offered to help, when it's the founder of Marines & Mickey now under scrutiny for allegedly misrepresenting his Marine history.
Simpson has claimed to be a retired Master Sergeant, Force Recon Marine and Parris Island drill instructor.
But according to a series of open records requests, 11Alive has learned Simpson only served three years in the Marines. According to Marines Corps Manpower & Reserve Affairs Department, Simpson was a private working as a finance technician when he was involuntarily discharged by a special court martial.
Shortly before, Simpson was absent without leave when he was arrested by the Oconee County Sheriff's Department for driving under suspension and unlawfully carrying a pistol. According to South Carolina court records, he plead guilty to both charges.
As for Parris Island, the public affairs office says Simpson was banned from the facility last September due to complaints about his fundraising activities.
It's unethical to misrepresent your military service, but it's illegal to make money while doing it. That's why the FBI, NCIS and IRS have all indicated they are looking into the allegations.
Several states from South Carolina to New York are also trying to figure out how much money Marines and Mickey has raised since it was created in 2014, and where it has gone.
"We had no clue the magnitude, the biblical proportion of fraud that was going on," said Dr. Jason Weeks, the co-founder of the Skip Wells Foundation.
If the allegations are true, the victims aren't just the families that failed to get the money, but also the thousands of people who donated believing in the cause. There have been rallies, raffles and dozens of GoFundMe pages. There's no doubt Marines & Mickey has helped people. The question is did all the money raised, truly go toward that cause.
"It's a lot of money. And it's not so much the money as it is the circumstance or the pretense and the sickening level of deceit," said Weeks.
Online, Simpson has denied the allegations and accused the Skip Wells Foundation of extortion and blackmail.
In a written statement, Simpson says he's spent more than $220,000 helping more than 300 families get to Disney or a Marine graduation.
Simpson says he has hired a lawyer to sue the Foundation and its board and insists they are trying to take over his charity.
Simpson declined to directly answer questions from Investigative Reporter Rebecca Lindstrom, about whether he ever misrepresented his military background.
Before starting Marines & Mickey, 11Alive has learned Simpson received a license in 2005 from South Carolina to open a burglar-alarm company called "Simpson Security." The company operated in South Carolina for years, before the license expired in 2012. During those seven years there were a number of complaints made to the state and Better Business Bureau regarding the company. Customers stated Simpson Security failed to return calls, made unauthorized withdrawals, and failed to complete the instillation of security systems.
At least nine customers would take his company to court winning $12,977 in judgments against him. One case is still pending in Anderson County, SC.
According to the Florida Division of Regulations, Simpson also operated an unlicensed company there under the name Semper Fi Security Systems. In 2013 Simpson was issued a Cease and Desist notice.
Timeline of John Simpson history uncovered by Rebecca Lindstrom's investigation:
- July 10, 1994 – Enlisted in the Marines.
- June 19, 1997 – Arrested for unlawfully carrying a pistol, and driving under suspension. Plead guilty to both charges according to S.C. Court Records.
- August 20, 1997 –Involuntarily discharged with the rank of "private" after a special court-martial according to military records.
- February 2, 1999 – Arrested for passing fraudulent checks. Plead guilty in a bench trial in 2000.
- July 2005 – Receives a business license in SC to start the company: Simpson Security.
- July 2012- Simpson Security's license expires.
- December 9, 2013 Complaints filed in Florida alleging John Simpsons "Semper Fi Security Systems" is operating without a license.
- February 19, 2014 Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation issued a cease and desist order against John Simpson's Semper-Fi Security Systems.
- May 9, 2014 – Creates the "Marines And Mickey Charity" in Florida.
- September 25, 2015 - "Marines And Mickey" Dissolved in Florida due to unfiled paperwork.
- September 2015 - Marines and Mickey re-files for charity status in South Carolina.
- September 2015 - Simpson is banned from the TRI-Command properties, which include Parris Island, due complaints about his fundraising practices.
- February 26, 2016 – Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation cuts ties with Marines and Mickey.
- March 2016 – NCIS investigating complaints against Marines and Mickey.
