September 29, 2015

Roanoke Man Convicted of Making False Statement

ROANOKE, VA—A Roanoke man who willfully made a false statement to an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke.

Shane Giles Eaton, 21, of Roanoke, Va., waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty today to a one count Information charging him with willfully making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.

“Mr. Eaton falsely accused an ex-girlfriend of making threats against the President of the United States and of her intentions to join a known terrorist organization,” United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno said today. “We take the act of making false statements to law enforcement officials extremely seriously. Mr. Eaton’s false accusations wasted precious federal resources and unnecessarily subjected his former girlfriend to the trauma of a federal investigation. Today’s conviction should serve as a warning to others who may be contemplating making similar false statements.”

According to evidence presented at today’s guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar, on March 12, 2015, Eaton walked into the downtown Roanoke offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and made a statement to an agent that his ex-girlfriend made threats against the life of the President of the United States and her of intentions to join ISIS.

During interviews with Eaton’s ex-girlfriend and her mother, agents determined that Eaton’s original statements were false. In subsequent interviews with Eaton, conducted on March 16, 2015 by agents with the FBI and United States Secret Service, Eaton admitted that his prior statements were not truthful and that he lied about his ex-girlfriend to get her into trouble. In a Mirandized statement he wrote, “I lied to the agent,” and “Sorry for what I had done.”

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bubar will prosecute the case for the United States.