MASSENA -- A former Massena man has pled guilty to a stolen valor offense and unlawfully forging military discharge paperwork.

Randall J. Montour, 45, now a resident of Cornwall, Ontario, pled guilty in federal court on Feb. 29 to violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 and falsifying his military discharge certificate.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York, Montour falsified his DD-214 discharge paperwork to show an honorable discharge and numerous decorations, medals, badges, citations or campaign ribbons.

Montour admitted to falsifying his discharge paperwork to note that he was awarded a Purple Heart during his service time as well.

The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the president to soldiers wounded or killed while serving in the United States military.

Prior to the Purple Heart, service members wounded or killed while serving were awarded the Badge of Military Merit, which was introduced by General George Washington in 1782. The Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. service members.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Montour's military records show he did not receive any citations and received a bad-conduct discharge from the Air Force in 2001. Montour was only awarded the Air Force Training Ribbon during his service and never received a Purple Heart, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Montour also admitted to using his altered DD-214 to purchase Purple Heart Recipient license plates from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, which he used on his vehicle, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Montour is set to be sentenced June 27, 2024 and faces up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $100,000 and a term of supervised release of up to one year.

The United States Marshals Service investigated the case with assistance from the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas G. Collyer is prosecuting the case.