CIA Impostor, Former Fox News Pundit, Sentenced to Prison

Annapolis, MD — A former Fox News commentator from Annapolis, whom federal prosecutors called an impostor because of his oft-repeated claims that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years, will be sent to prison, authorities said.

Wayne Shelby Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, a former on-air pundit for the cable network, was arrested Oct. 15, 2015, after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of major fraud against the United States, wire fraud and making false statements to the government.

He pleaded guilty to fraud on April 29, which was tied to his touted CIA experience. Prosecutors said he attempted to con his way into a position where he would have been called on to give real intelligence advice in a war zone. His fraud cost the government money and put national security at risk, the Department of Justice said.

“Wayne Simmons is a fraud,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Simmons has no military or intelligence background, or any skills relevant to the positions he attained through his frauds. He is quite simply a criminal and a con man, and his fraud had the potential to endanger national security and put American lives at risk in Afghanistan.”

Simmons was sentenced Friday to 33 months in prison for major fraud against the government, wire fraud and a firearms offense. Simmons was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, to forfeit two firearms and $175,612 in criminal proceeds, and to pay restitution to his victims.

Simmons had appeared on Fox News since 2002 as an analyst on terrorism issues and policies, according to The Huffington Post. The news network says Simmons was an unpaid guest on programs.

“Mr. Simmons never worked at CIA and we are pleased that justice was served in this case,” said Dean Boyd, director of CIA’s Office of Public Affairs.

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According to court documents, Simmons admitted he defrauded the government in 2008 when he obtained work as a team leader in the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain Systems program, and again in 2010 when he was deployed to Afghanistan as a senior intelligence adviser.

Federal authorities say Simmons admitted he lied about his financial and criminal history, and admitted that there is no evidence he was ever employed by the CIA, or ever received a security clearance by the agency. In order to obtain the senior intelligence adviser position, he lied about work he had done a year earlier for the Army.

Simmons also admitted to defrauding an individual out of $125,000 in connection with a bogus real estate investment, federal prosecutors said. Simmons sent the unidentified victim promised monthly payments to make it appear as if her money had been invested as promised, and he repeatedly lied to the woman about where her money was deposited in order to perpetuate the fraud. Instead, official say Simmons spent the money on himself and there was never an actual real estate investment project.

The firearms charge was filed when Simmons admitted that at the time he was arrested, he was unlawfully in possession of two firearms, which he was prohibited from possessing on account of his prior felony convictions.

Magazine Critiques Fox, Simmons

Rolling Stone magazine in January 2016 delved into the story of what it dubbed “The Absurdity of Wayne Simmons.”

Rolling Stone’s report says Simmons was one of a stable of military analysts, many of the others were retired military officers, who made money as TV commentators. Fox didn’t pay Simmons, but he used those appearances to leverage other business opportunities, the story says, including regular Republican speaking appearances and landing a book deal.

The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for its reporting that illustrated how the Pentagon used the analysts to build public support for the war in Iraq.

Simmons was a Fox audience favorite and endorsed by Pentagon officials as they tried to boost support for the war in 2004, the magazine says.

In October, a federal judge in Virginia denied Simmons’ bid for release while he awaits trial. The Huffington Post reports the judge cited Simmons’ 11 arrests for driving under the influence, a 2007 assault arrest and firearms convictions as the reason for his decision.

Rolling Stone’s article criticizes Fox producers for a lack of vetting Simmons, which was explained by his initial appearances on weekends, when a source says the network abandons most checks into guest’s backgrounds. “Once a guest proves capable, bookers for prominent time slots often snap them up when breaking news hits, and have little reason to question their credentials,” the story says.

His media profile was helped when the Pentagon noticed his appearances, which were marked by unflagging support for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and inflammatory comments such as a description of then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as a “pathological liar.”

Simmons’ website claims he was recruited by the CIA after he joined the Navy in 1972 and “spearheaded Deep Cover Intel Ops against some of the world’s most dangerous Drug Cartels and arms smugglers from Central and South America and the Middle East.”