U.S. Marshals Arrest Wannabe Navy SEAL

Norfolk, VA – United States Marshal Robert W. Mathieson announces the capture of Phillip Ohman. The 58 year-old Ohman was wanted out of Maricopa County, Arizona, on 11 felony fraud-related charges in which he claimed to be a Navy SEAL as part of a scam he allegedly ran in Arizona.

While in Arizona, it is alleged that Ohman would falsely identify himself as a Navy SEAL to earn the trust of businesses, and then write bad checks after falsely obtaining property and services. To help convince the victims of his scams that he was in fact a Navy SEAL, Ohman was known to wear Navy SEAL hats and to have a Navy SEAL bumper sticker on his vehicle. Ohman also frequently told people about upcoming deployments he was scheduled for. In reality, Ohman never served in the military and has a criminal record beginning in the 1980’s that spans several states, with multiple prior arrests for writing bad checks , theft, larceny, and committing fraudulent schemes. He has been known to use numerous different names while scamming his victims, one of which is Phillip D’Marcone.

On June 16, 2015, Ohman was indicted on the following felonies in Maricopa County: Attempt to commit fraudulent schemes and artifices, Fraudulent schemes and artifices (three counts), Theft (two counts), Trafficking in stolen property (four counts), and Taking identity of another. Earlier this month, the U.S. Marshals in Arizona reached out to the U.S. Marshals in Norfolk with information that Ohman may be residing in Virginia Beach under a different name. On Friday, July 17, 2015, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Virginia Beach Fugitive Unit took Ohman into custody at a residence on the 2600 block of Killey Court at around 5:00 P.M.

Ohman is currently being held at Virginia Beach City Jail awaiting extradition to Arizona.

The U.S. Marshals-led Fugitive Task Force consists of law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals, Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, Newport News Police Department, Portsmouth Police Department and Norfolk Police Department. The main objective of the task force is to seek out and arrest violent offenders with outstanding federal and state warrants.

The U.S. Marshals Service, America’s oldest federal law enforcement agency, arrested more than 33,700 federal fugitives, 71,000 state and local fugitives and 11,600 sex offenders in 2014. Our investigative network and capabilities allow for the unique ability to track and apprehend any fugitive who attempts to evade police capture, anywhere in the country.