A Greenwood man is accused of impersonating a federal agent and making false statements to authorities in Vermont.
Brandon Anderson, 34, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of impersonation of an officer or employee of the United States and one count of making a false statement to a department or agency of the United States. The grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday, and Anderson entered a plea of not guilty to the charges during an arraignment Friday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont.
Federal prosecutors allege that Anderson, while wearing a tactical uniform with black body armor and a holstered firearm, impersonated a federal law enforcement official on two occasions. He was not a federal law enforcement official during either occasion, but was a privately-contracted armed security guard for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Vermont.
The first incident occurred on Jan. 31 at a FedEx office in Williston, Vermont. A 911 caller said Anderson, who was dressed in tactical clothes, was trying to ship several firearms to an address in New York. Deputies with the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office in Vermont spoke with Anderson over the phone, who claimed he was a sworn officer and agent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was trying to ship guns to a private company, according to court documents.
Federal officials and deputies responded to the store to speak with Anderson, whose uniform had no identifying patches other than an emblem on the vest and an ID card he had. He gave law enforcement his name and other identifying information. The store also refused to ship the guns, court documents show.
Additional investigation led to the discovery of another suspicious incident involving Anderson from Nov. 10 at a mall in South Burlington, Vermont.
Mall security called the police after encountering Anderson, who was again wearing tactical clothes. When they asked him what agency he was with, he said he was a “fed.” He later allegedly said he was working a protection detail for DHS, court documents say.
When South Burlington Police officers encountered Anderson outside the mall, he also said he was with DHS and was doing a protective detail. He was with a female FEMA employee at the time, according to court documents.
Federal investigators spoke with FEMA about Anderson’s claims, and they said they did not employ security officers to do protective details and that they should identify themselves as federal agents. They also spoke with the contractor who said Anderson was authorized to ship firearms, but there were certain forms he needed to file, court documents show.
Later, when investigators spoke with Anderson about the mall incident, he said it was “spur of the moment” decision to say he was a federal agent and that he hadn’t planned it out. As for the FedEx incident, he said he had no idea why he told them he was a federal agent and that he didn’t remember calling himself a DHS agent, court documents say.
During the investigation, agents learned that in becoming a security guard for FEMA, he falsely said that he had served in the United States Marine Corp. and received an honorable discharge. But he had not served in the Marines at all, according to court documents.
When asked about this, he said he wasn’t sure why he wrote on his job application that he served. He said he went to boot camp, but failed out of it. A later search of Anderson when he was arrested found USMC dog tags, and he also had a backpack with a USMC patch, court documents show.
Anderson did not have any military records, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service also did a record search at DHS’ request, which found no results of civilian or military service either, according to court documents.
He also allegedly lied about never being arrested before. Records show a 2011 arrest in Texas for criminal mischief and a 2020 arrest in Indianapolis for unlawful possession of a syringe, possession of a controlled substance and visiting a common nuisance. All of the charges in both cases were dismissed, according to court documents.
Later in the interview, he reportedly told investigators that he “f***** up” by saying the things that he did, court documents say.
