Lynn alleged veteran impersonator arraigned on fraud charge

WOBURN – He spent the Christmas holiday in jail, now a Lynn man accused of scamming the public out of cash by accepting fraudulent donations is $500 lighter in the wallet after his arraignment Friday in Woburn District Court.Paul Guilmain, 44, of 102 Orchard St., Lynn, pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny under $250 by false pretense and falsely using an association name Friday morning. The judge set bail at $500.Guilman is accused of posing as a a representative of a veterans’ group to collect a container of money for himself at a Woburn Stop & Shop on Christmas Eve – a plan that was working until he encountered an Army veteran who became suspicious of his story.The man, identified in a Woburn police report as 23-year-old Nick Ford, a soldier with the U.S. Army and current National Guardsman, allegedly spoke with Guilmain as he collected donations while dressed in Army camouflage clothing and military-style boots.According to the report, Guilmain was also holding a sign that read, “Military Families for the Holidays,” a can that read “National Veterans Foundation” and a clipboard with the NVF logo and mission statement.Ford called police after realizing that Guilman’s story didn’t add up, and later told officers that he became suspicious when he saw the suspect wearing outdated military clothing.When confronted by police, Guilmain admitted that NVF never gave him permission to solicit money, and additionally, police contacted an NVF official who said that not only did Guilmain not have permission to collect money, but, “The organization has received several complaints and inquiries in the past two weeks in regard to Mr. Guilmain’s activity,” a police report said.Police confiscated $150.27 that Guilmain allegedly collected on Christmas Eve at the supermarket, and he remained jailed through the holiday until court re-opened Friday morning.