Michigan man accused of passing students who failed Coast Guard courses at his marine training school
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 28: A United States Coast Guard logo is displayed on a rescue boat on September 28, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Michigan man who owned a marine training school that taught Coast Guard courses to students allegedly provided course certificates to students who did not complete the required coursework.
Mel Stackpoole, 62, of St. Clair County, pleaded guilty Tuesday 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.
The backstory:
The Department of Justice said Stackpoole allegedly committed these crimes when he owned Great Lakes Charter Training, a marine training school that offered Coast Guard-approved training courses for the issuance of merchant mariner credentials (MMC).
According to the DOJ, in August 2020, Stackpoole provided the students enrolled in his Master 100 Ton Captain’s Course with fewer than 50 hours of classroom instruction, rather than the required 80 hours. He also allegedly 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.
He's also accused of providing the students with the answers to certain examination questions, changing students’ incorrect test answers into correct answers, and inflating the students’ test scores so that students who should have failed passed the course. Stackpoole then issued course completion certificates to the students, falsely signifying their successful completion of the course to the Coast Guard.
Why you should care:
Officials said Stackpoole's actions put people who use the Great Lakes at risk.
"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." U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said in a press release announcing the guilty plea.
Capt. Richard Armstrong, the commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit, echoed the safety concerns, noting that actions like Stackpoole's damage trust.
"Integrity is the cornerstone of our maritime profession. When that trust is broken, it jeopardizes individual careers and the safety and security of our waterways," he said. "The U.S. Coast Guard stands firm in ensuring that those who choose to deceive or falsify their merchant mariner credential, or those who subvert the credentialing process, will be held accountable."
What's next:
Stackpoole is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
The Source: This information is from a DOJ press release.