Alpharetta Man Pleads Guilty to Impersonation of National Security Agent
Aprile Held Himself Out to Alpharetta and Marietta Police Departments as Anti-Terrorism Task Force Leader

ATLANTA—LOUIS JOSEPH APRILE, 49, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to the offense of impersonating a federal agent, namely, an agent of the National Security Agency.

FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, “Individuals impersonating U.S. intelligence agents as they meet with bona fide law enforcement officials are, thankfully, not something that the FBI has to contend with very often. Our solid partnerships with the Alpharetta Police Department, the Marietta Police Department, and many other departments which make up the metro Atlanta law enforcement community make such efforts doomed to fail.”

According to Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: From May 19, to June 9, 2009, LOUIS JOSEPH APRILE initiated meetings with local law enforcement and repeatedly held himself out as the deputy director of the National Security Agency during a number of meetings. He perpetrated an elaborate scheme to convince these officers that he was from the National Security Agency (NSA) to organize an anti-terrorist task force, specifically targeting some individuals whom he claimed were Iraqi terrorists about to engage in terrorist acts. He told law enforcement officers elaborate stories with details regarding a terrorist plot to bomb a local area. His claims were serious enough to demand attention by the police departments. However, officers detected the deception before the impersonation went any further.

APRILE was indicted in July 2009 of one count of impersonation of a federal agent. He pleaded guilty to the indictment. He could receive a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 3, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., before United States District Judge Orinda Evans.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Katherine M. Hoffer is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact Sally Q. Yates, Acting United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.