Beaufort man charged after claiming to have been stabbed at Savannah’s Army airfield
A Beaufort man has been charged with making false claims to the Army after he said he was stabbed at an airfield in Savannah.
Eric Nakamura, 49, of Beaufort, has been indicted on three counts of giving a false statement to a department or agency of the United States, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. Nakamura was recently arraigned by Magistrate Judge Christopher L. Ray and pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
On July 20, 2020, Nakamura reported that he had been stabbed and robbed at knifepoint while working in the lab at the Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, according to the press release. Nakamura told special agents with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command again on Oct. 14, 2020, and Feb. 1, 2021, that he had been stabbed and robbed by someone with the name “Brown” taped to their Army uniform, according to the press release.
Nakamura was employed by a contractor doing work at the airfield, said Barry Paschal, public affairs officer for the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Nakamura could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison for each charge and face “substantial financial penalties,” according to the press release. Nakamura would not have the possibility of parole, the press release said, and would have up to five years of supervised release, a period of preliminary supervision after a prison sentence.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.
