Man claiming to be Navy Seal facing 11 criminal counts

A United States Marshals Task Force arrested 58-year-old Phillip Ohman in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Now he's headed back to Arizona to face fraud and theft charges.

"Part of what he would do to gain someone's confidence in order to pass a bad check or to do something similar involved, is his story that he was a Navy Seal, in some cases he was pending deployment," said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.

Prosecutors say he pulled the scam at a number of valley businesses including Bill Luke Jeep, and C&G Jewelers in Phoenix.

"He came in and wanted two or three pieces of jewelry," said Diana Simonian.

One of those pieces was a diamond ring, the total cost was $7,013, the suspect bought it with a check.

"When I called the bank the first thing I said was, are there funds available in the amount of $7,013, and all she could tell me was uh, no," said Simonian.

Simonian says Ohman claimed to be a successful landscaper, but she didn't buy it. She refused to give him the jewelry and eventually called police.

"Too many stories, too much phony talking about his landscaping company, and how he wanted to help us, he was a real nervous acting, I just know something was wrong with him," she said.

Prosecutors have also accused Ohman of stealing someone's identity and trafficking in stolen property. Many of the victims told investigators that Ohman claimed to be a Navy Seal.

"For the men and women who sacrifice their lives overseas, and their families who are left back home to carry on in their absence. That is something that Americans are very sensitive to, and we want to honor that service, and he traded on that too.