A Toledo man who pleaded guilty to making false distress calls to the Coast Guard has been sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $112,000 in restitution.
Frederico Flores, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in June to one count of making false distress calls and was sentenced Monday by Judge James Carr.
The Coast Guard said its Detroit station received several distress calls over a 25-hour period in March claiming that a vessel was taking on water near Toledo's High Level Bridge. The calls said four people had been aboard the sinking boat and two of them were in the water.
The Coast Guard's air rescue unit in Detroit and rescue crews from the Toledo and Marblehead stations searched the area for 25 hours and found no vessel in distress, debris, or people in the water.
Further investigation led authorities to Flores' Lewis Avenue apartment building.
Judge Carr ordered Flores to pay the Coast Guard $112,735.70 in restitution for the cost of the search."False distress calls are a tremendous concern, not only because of the waste of resources, but especially because resources responding to a false distress are not available to respond to an actual person in distress.
It could cost someone more than money," said Rear Adm. Peter Neffenger, commander of the Cleveland-based 9th Coast Guard District.
Conditions of the supervised release include a requirement that Flores undergo detoxification for substance abuse.
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