A 55-year-old Corona del Mar man pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to do 20 days of Caltrans work for faking Navy veteran status to get a high-paying job.
Pete John Kalamaris pleaded guilty to perjury and preparing false evidence, both felonies, as well as falsely representing himself as a veteran, a misdemeanor, according to court records.
Two counts of attempting to file a false or forged instrument and a count of perjury, all felonies, were dropped in the plea deal.
Kalamaris got a six-figure salary job partly based on his claims of military experience, the Orange County District Attorney's Office reported when charges were filed in August 2017.
When the defendant lost his job in December 2016, he filed a declaration in a civil case claiming he was wrongly terminated, prosecutors said.
In the claim, Kalamaris falsely said he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, served in the Navy for 22 years, attained commander status, had experience as a fighter pilot, served during Operation Desert Storm and received a master's in business administration from an "esteemed university," prosecutors said.
The defendant also used forgeries to back the claims, prosecutors said.
News
Top news of the day
He also testified to graduating from the Naval Academy when he was testifying during a civil case deposition, prosecutors said.
