BOSTON -- The medals pinned on members of our military are supposed to symbolize real-life stories about combat, sacrifice and heroism. The problem is, all too often, those stories aren't true.

Team 5 Investigates has uncovered blatant violations of the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to falsely claim to have earned a medal of valor in military service.

NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported on Thursday that it's a problem that is not only distorting history and dishonoring America's real heroes, but costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

Mark Manozzi is a former state trooper who lives in Revere, Mass. He has spent the last 35 years creating an image of himself that would have you believe he's a Vietnam War hero.

Manozzi did serve in the Marines and the Army for more than 17 years. That service is an accomplishment of its own, but one with few decorations.

Manozzi holds up his uniform as proof of the honors he's earned, including the Silver and Bronze stars for valor and bravery in combat, four Purple Hearts, and rows of other ribbons suggesting he served courageously in Vietnam.

But the Marines and the Army told Team 5 Investigates that Manozzi never set foot in Vietnam. In fact, the Marines said that Manozzi never went farther than Hawaii, where he was a desk sergeant.

When Team 5 Investigates paid Manozzi a visit to ask him about his military honors, he was less than pleased. "Get that thing out of my face, sir," said Manozzi.

Elyse Bongiorno was contacted by Manozzi when he was looking to volunteer with her military support group, Eagles Up. In e-mails to her, he bragged about completing hundreds of parachute jumps in combat and storming the Hanoi Hilton.

"There are people out there who have shed their blood, who have given their limbs and their sanity to earn these awards that he so carelessly throws around, and to disrespect them is an outrage," said Bongiorno.

"Are you a fraud?" asked Kelly.

"No," answered Manozzi.

"Why won't you show me everything you have?" asked Kelly.

"Because you're annoying me," said Manozzi.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles is now investigating how Manozzi got his Purple Heart license plate.

"The problem is epidemic," says Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran who along with his wife helped write the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 which makes it a federal crime to falsely claim military medals.

The problem, says Sterner, is that right now it's very difficult to verify claims of military awards.

He is backing a bill currently pending in Congress that would require the Department of Defense to create a national online database of all medals and honors awarded to members of the military in order to help make that verification easier.

If passed, finding phonies like New Hampshire resident Scott Baker would be much easier.

"Are you a Navy SEAL?" asked Kelly.

"No," said Baker.

"You're not a Navy SEAL?" Kelly asked again.

"No, I'm a diving instructor," replied Baker.

But that's not what he told his former father-in-law, Frank Petersen, who is a Korean War veteran. "On two occasions, he told me he was a SEAL," said Petersen.

Baker apparently wasn't satisfied with his two decades of service in the Navy and Army. So he bought some medals and ribbons, including the Naval SEAL Trident, to help him spin his story as one of the Navy's finest.

"It was a mistake, it was stupid, there's no other explanation than stupidity," said Baker.

But Baker's paying for that mistake with embarrassment, not criminally.

"The government is definitely not doing enough to prosecute these guys," said Mary Schantag of the P.O.W. Network, a nonprofit group that investigates claims to military honors.

Team 5 Investigates has learned the Boston office of the FBI has not investigated anyone under the Stolen Valor Act in the past few years.

Experts say military phonies who fudge their records and who have never been in the military can cost taxpayers millions of dollars every year in benefits.

"They can get license plates, property tax breaks, educational incentives and use the VA hospitals," said Schantag.

Becoming an imposter is brazen but simple. Team 5 Investigates purchased a Purple Heart medal at a local military outfitter with no proof it earned it. The ribbons on Manozzi's jacket are easy to find online, as was Baker's trident.

"We need to see more of these individuals doing jail time and not just getting a slap on the wrist," said Sterner.

The Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services Secretary Thomas Kelley refused to comment on the matter.