Man admits he threatened French couple with fake U.S. government letter while he was employed by DHS
CBSN
Washington — A Virginia man admitted that while he was employed by the Department of Homeland Security, he and his wife wrote a letter on fake State Department letterhead and impersonated an official in order to threaten a French couple who had employed their daughter as an au pair in Southern France.
In court on Monday, Ralph Karau pleaded guilty to one count of Misuse of Names, Words, Emblems, or Insignia — a law that makes it illegal to fraudulently use official U.S. government symbols "for the purpose of conveying the false impression that such communication is from a department," according to court documents.
According to records filed with the plea agreement, in October of 2019, Karau and his wife, Kathleen, prepared the letter soon after their daughter had returned to the U.S. from her stint as an au pair, and a forensic investigation showed that Karau had worked on the letter on devices issued to him by the government.
