Marines and Mickey target of federal investigation

Cathy Wells, mother of Skip Wells, right, hugs Chattanooga Police Officer Christina Henderson at Thunder Creek Harley Davidson after a motorcycle ride from Atlanta to Chattanooga to honor the memory of Skip on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Cathy Wells, mother of Skip Wells, right, hugs Chattanooga Police Officer Christina Henderson at Thunder Creek Harley Davidson after a motorcycle ride from Atlanta to Chattanooga to honor the memory of Skip on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

By Tyler Jett July 14, 2016 29 min read

Photo Gallery

A question of honor: Marines and Mickey target of federal investigation

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. Kit Sanders, president of the Teufflshunde Motorcycle Club for US Marines in Anderson, S.C., recalls stories that John Simpson shared about his military experience while visiting the club which Kit believes Simpson was lying about. John Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/30/16. John C. Simpson, father of John Shannon Simpson, speaks about his son while in the doorway of John C. Simpson's Anderson, S.C., residence. John S. Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Cathy Wells, mother of Skip Wells, talks with Jason Weeks at Thunder Creek Harley Davidson after a motorcycle ride from Atlanta to Chattanooga to honor the memory of her son on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. Blake Stutler, 18, nephew of John Shannon Simpson, left, and Blake's father Jeff Stutler former brother in law of Jeff Simpson, speak about Simpson's youth while outside of the Belton, S.C., home that Simpson grew up in. John Shannon Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. Blake Stutler, 18, nephew of Jeff Simpson, left, and Blake's father Jeff Stutler former brother in law of Jeff Simpson, speak about Simpson's youth while outside of the Belton, S.C., home that Simpson grew up in. John Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. The mill hill home in Belton, S.C., where John S. Simpson grew up in. John S. Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. Jeff Stutler former brother in law of John Simpson speaks about Simpson's youth while outside of the Belton, S.C., home that Simpson grew up in. John Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 6/29/16. Jeff Stutler former brother in law of John Simpson, and Simpson's 18-year-old nephew Blake Stutler, speak about Simpson's youth while outside of the Belton, S.C., home that Simpson grew up in. John Simpson the founder of Marines & Mickey is under federal investigation for stolen valor and is accused of misappropriating funds by the leaders of the Lance Corporal Skip Wells Foundation.

John Simpson sits at lunch with Jason Weeks, right, and another man at a restaurant outside of Atlanta in February. Weeks said he told Simpson to return funds to Cathy Wells, the mother of Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip" Wells, who died in Chattanooga during a mass shooting on July 16, 2015.

At the edge of the Sprayberry High School football field, in the swell of teenage tears and American flags and existential questions, a man stepped forward to salvage this whole mess.

He came to greet a group of parents, waiting to meet him in person for the first time. They knew him online, on private Facebook pages for families and supporters of the U.S. Marine Corps. They heard of his bonafides.

John Shannon Simpson was a 20-year veteran of the Corps. A retired master sergeant. Reconnaissance Marine. Former Parris Island drill instructor.

The group also knew Simpson came here with a purpose. They knew Cathy Wells, mother of Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells, one of the five military servicemen who died in Chattanooga on July 16, also greeted him that evening, before a memorial for her son at his alma mater. It had been five days since his death.

Complete Coverage:
Terror in Chattanooga

Through a Google search, Cathy Wells’ sister had found Simpson’s charity, Marines & Mickey. Simpson said he raised money to ship Marines and their families to Disney theme parks, providing them with stress relief after months of protecting the country.