Who always gets the girl? The good guy. Dylan Sorvino knew that, which was why he assumed the identity of a real-life hero on Facebook to pick up women. (Oddly easy to fake, as only 11 percent of couples who meet on the site actually get together and do “couple things” in person.) So what did Sorvino pretend to be? A doctor? A firefighter? Try a dead Army Ranger.
Sgt. Roberto Sanchez (pictured above) died in Afghanistan in 2009 after five tours of duty for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. Sorvino snagged pictures of the striking Sanchez off of a memorial site and set up a fake Facebook profile in order to pose as a soldier to meet women.
Sanchez’s family was tipped off by a woman who stumbled on photos of him on a military website and recognized him from Sorvino’s fake Facebook page.
Here’s Wendy Holland, Sanchez’s mother:
This guy went on the Ranger battalion website looking for a fallen soldier to use. My son died for this country. How can anyone do that? It’s so heartless.
Outraged, Sanchez’s friends and family confronted Sorvino, who then deleted the account.
But the consequences for Sorvino’s impersonation are far from over. The FBI is now investigating whether posing as a war hero on Facebook is a violation of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which states that it is illegal to claim false military awards.