Fake Federal Job Nets Prison Term

For all the talk about federal employees who can't wait to get out of government, some people would do just about anything to get in -- or at least to pretend they're in. The Associated Press reports that a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, has sentenced Christopher Wayne Ralston to 12 months in prison for impersonating a high-ranking federal employee.

Ralston pretended he was a Justice Department "operations director," and convinced a homebuilder to construct a house for him by promising that Justice would wire him $320,000 to pay for it. Ralston also gathered personal information on 13 people under the guise of having them fill out applications for "national security positions."

It looks like Ralston will get his wish in a way: If he gets a prison job, he'll be working for the Justice Department -- just for a lot less than $320,000.