Navy Seal Imposter Arrested

By Debbie Gregory.

Who is the real William Burley? It appears that he is a phony Navy SEAL and felon.  The truth came out when he was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy for driving with expired vehicle tags in San Bernardino, California. Burley has a history of impersonating a Navy SEAL and cheating people out of money.

William Burley has claimed to be a Navy SEAL and a member of law enforcement for several years. He really is a convicted felon in Rhode Island.  Burley served two years of a 10-year sentence in Rhode Island for conspiracy to commit robbery in 2006.

When the sheriff’s deputy stopped Burley, he found firearms, body armor and other law enforcement identifications. The deputy arrested Burley on suspicion of being a felon and for having a firearm in his vehicle. After the arrest, the San Bernardino Probation Department office obtained a search warrant for Burley’s Yucaipa, California home and found more weapons and body armor.

Retired Navy Seal Don Shipley has been on to Burley for some time. Mr. Shipley is a former SEAL entrusted with a database that shows SEAL training graduates. He has been aware of imposter William Burley and has tried to take him down. In a YouTube video that was uploaded in October, 2012, Shipley exposed William James Burley as a phony.

Mr. Shipley receives forty or more requests daily to verify if someone is a truly a Navy SEAL.  They usually turn out to be impostors.

An imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to attain financial gain or social advantages. Imposture syndrome describes a situation where someone feels like an imposter or fraud because they believe their own accomplishments fall short of those around them.

William James Burley now faces possible prison time. He has a long history of impersonating a Navy SEAL and cheating people. If he is convicted in California he will be doing time for illegally possessing firearms. He still will have to face the Rhode Island authorities.

The real Navy SEALS work hard to keep our nation safe and are truly heroes.  Often, they don’t reveal to their friends and family, the work that they do. It is truly offensive to have anyone, especially someone like Burley, pretend to be part of this elite force. “People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf”.

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