Man gets 3 years in prison for Ohio fundraising scam

COLUMBUS (AP) — A man who fraudulently collected money for a veterans charity he didn’t represent has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Joseph Steward was arrested in October after soliciting door-to door donations in Columbus for the Wounded Warrior Project. The charity told police it doesn’t do door-to-door solicitations, it never received any money raised by Steward and that he didn’t represent the group.

The 45-year-old Steward pleaded guilty to single felony counts of prohibited acts, tampering with records and impersonating an officer.

The court ordered Steward to pay nearly $1,600 in restitution to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Police say more than 300 people may have been victims of the fraud.