Maritime Training School Owner Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the Coast Guard

 
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan reported that the operator of a maritime training program for U.S. Coast Guard certificates has pleaded guilty to a felony charge related to falsifying records connected to a course he administered. Mel Stackpoole, age 62 of Michigan, entered his guilty plea on August 12, to one count of knowingly altering and falsifying records and documents with the intent to impede the proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard.

According to court records, Stackpoole was the owner and lead instructor of Great Lakes Charter Training, a marine training school that offered Coast Guard-approved training courses. The program supported mariners seeking merchant mariner credentials (MMC).  

“Mel Stackpoole has endangered the safety of everyone who uses the waterways of our Great Lakes by deliberately circumnavigating the Coast Guard’s training and certification protocols and facilitating the issuance of credentials to unskilled and unqualified mariners,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. He was joined in the announcement by Captain Richard Armstrong, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit, and Special Agent in Charge Josh Packer, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Central Field Office, Detroit.

In August of 2020, Stackpoole provided the students enrolled in his Master 100 Ton Captain’s Course with less than 50 hours of classroom instruction, rather than the required 80 hours.  He also instructed the students to provide false information regarding their prior sea service, medical history, and recreational drug use on their MMC applications to the Coast Guard.  

Further, Stackpoole improperly provided the students with the answers to certain examination questions; changed students’ incorrect test answers into correct answers; and inflated the students’ test scores in order to reflect passing, rather than failing, grades. Stackpoole ultimately issued course completion certificates to the students, falsely signifying their successful completion of the course to the Coast Guard.

A sentencing hearing is set for December 18, at which Stackpoole faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.