Phony FBI Agent Again Impersonating a Dirty Cop: Feds

Warren, MI — The FBI said Friday accused a Warren man, 62-year-old Kevin Ladon Balfour, of intentionally impersonating an FBI agent in a scheme that tricked his victims out of thousands of dollars to wipe their records clean.

And it wasn’t the first time has been accused of posing as a dirty cop willing to make incriminating records disappear for a fee, David P. Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Division, said in a news release.

Balfour was arrested and convicted on the same charge in 2010 and was released from prison in 2013, according to court records. At the time of his initial arrest, authorities seized numerous weapons and ammunition, authentic looking FBI badges and other standard police equipment.

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Balfour “always carried a 9mm handgun on his person … and wore a silver FBI badge on his belt,” one of the victims told authorities, according to the criminal complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court by the FBI.

He also kept handcuffs and other items in an official looking black Grand Marquis Mercury sedan with black tinted windows, and on at least one occasion claimed to be a retired Chicago police officer, according to the complaint.

Balfour, who was released from supervised probation on the 2010 charge of impersonation of a federal officer in late 2014, has an extensive criminal history that includes arrests in Illinois for armed robbery, theft, criminal damage to property, burglary, unlawful use of a weapon, auto theft, battery, forgery, retail fraud and impersonating a peace officer, according to the complaint.

His rap sheet also includes an arrest by the Secret Service for unlawful possession of U.S. Treasury checks, authorities said.

Balfour made his initial appearance Friday in federal court, where he was ordered held until a detention hearing on Monday to determine if bond should be allowed.

Gelois said in the news release that the FBI is seeking information about other potential victims or scams that Balfour may have perpetrated. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI Macomb County Resident Agency at (586) 412-4844.

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