Coughlin received $331,034 for claims he was injured in the 2001 attack on the Pentagon. | AP Photo Close

By TIM MAK | 8/29/11 4:06 PM EDT

A naval officer honored for heroism during the September 11th attack on the Pentagon was found guilty Monday of defrauding the victims’ compensation fund of over $300,000 by exaggerating his injuries.

Retired Cmdr. Charles Coughlin was found guilty after a three-week trial that found he made false claims from a fund set up by Congress after the 9/11 attacks, reports the Associated Press on Monday.

Coughlin received $331,034 from the fund after filing claims that said he was fighting chronic pain related to being injured twice during the attack on the Pentagon. He said that he was first injured when objects fell on him after a plane flew into his building, and injured a second time when he hit his head on a door during an attempt to rescue others. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery that day.

But prosecutors alleged that Coughlin played lacrosse and ran a marathon after the attacks, and lied when he claimed he needed surgery. Prosecutors also showed jurors a picture of Coughlin holding a lacrosse stick after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Coughlin was only convicted after three trials. In two previous trials, jurors had either found him not guilty or had been unable to come to a decision. Jurors had said after their trials that Coughlin was the kind of person who could exercise through pain, and seemed credible during testimony when he claimed he was telling the truth.

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