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There is a long story on how he conned people back in 2004 in the Washington Post
Fear of Terrorism Inspired Scheme to Bilk Area Malls
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 31, 2004; Page A07
Yahoo!
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnyone who has spent one penny with this dude who thinks they are going to get it back is out of their flipping mind.
Fear of Terrorism Inspired Scheme to Bilk Area Malls
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 31, 2004; Page A07
Yahoo!
It might be noted also he has a Monetary judgment of $1,646,166 against him, as a result of a Civil Suit against him.Christian A. Kerodin fixed heaters and air conditioners for a living.
But after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, he found something new to repair:
what he saw as the vulnerability of major Washington area shopping malls
to terrorism.
With no experience, Kerodin started an international consulting firm and
issued reports criticizing security at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon
City, Tysons Galleria and Landmark Mall in Alexandria, saying they had
failed to prepare for biological, chemical or other attacks.
The 37-year-old Alexandria businessman hawked his reports in news
releases and convinced the editor of a national real estate publication
to feature him as an expert with 20 years of foreign policy and
counter-terrorism experience. His reports were quoted by Wall Street
analysts. He was even scheduled to speak at an emergency preparedness
conference in the District alongside a senior Treasury Department
official.
Federal law enforcement officials say Kerodin exploited a climate of
fear stemming from the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Kerodin has admitted to extorting money from some of the region's
biggest mall owners by threatening to expose their alleged
vulnerabilities to "Islamic terrorism" if they did not hire him as a
consultant. He was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in
Alexandria to 21/2 years in prison.
Officials said Kerodin's case highlights a disturbing trend of people
trying to profit from concerns about terrorism in the post-Sept. 11 era.
It was not unlike the case of a Maryland man convicted last year of
providing bomb dogs that couldn't smell out explosives to guard key
government installations.
U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty, whose office prosecuted Kerodin and has
brought a number of similar cases recently, said Kerodin "took advantage
of the heightened concern we all have to protect ourselves from
terrorism. It is reprehensible that he exploited that concern for
personal gain.''
Kerodin was indicted last fall on extortion charges after a sting in
which a U.S. Secret Service agent posed as a vice president of the
company that owns the Pentagon City mall, court documents say. He
pleaded guilty in January to extortion and a firearms count. Federal
agents found an illegal, sawed-off shotgun when they swarmed Kerodin's
one-bedroom apartment last fall.
The telephone number for Kerodin's company was disconnected, and a home
number could not be found this week.
More at link.
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnyone who has spent one penny with this dude who thinks they are going to get it back is out of their flipping mind.