Feds: Man posed as Army officer, landed helicopter at SAS

Christian Gerald Desgroux, 57, posed as a three-star general who was transporting someone for a classified briefing on Nov. 6 and asserted authority to land the helicopter at SAS, authorities said.

No other details of the incident were released.

"He was not a SAS employee and had no affiliation with our company," SAS spokeswoman Shannon Heath said in an email to WRAL News. "At the time of the incident, SAS Security contacted local authorities, who handled the situation. This was an isolated incident."

A criminal background check of Degroux shows that he has had several run-ins with the law before.

Last year, he was charged with misdemeanor stalking, fleeing from arrest, misuse of the 911 emergency system and assaulting a woman, court records show.

Earlier this year, Desgroux was charged with violating a court order and felony conversion, which generally means taking someone's property without the owner's permission.

If convicted of impersonating an Army officer, Desgroux could face up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.