Wayne Simmons, a regular contributor for Fox News, was arrested by federal authorities after falsely claiming that he was in the Central Intelligence Agency as an “Outside Paramilitary Special Operations Officer.”

Federal authorities arrested Simmons after a federal grand jury indictment alleging that Simmons committed major fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to the government. Simmons claimed that he was in the CIA from 1973 to 2000 and “used that false claim in an attempt to obtain government security clearances and work as a defense contractor, including at one point successfully getting deployed overseas as an intelligence adviser to senior military personnel.”

Federal prosecutors alleged that Simmons had a lengthy criminal history with charges including firearms offenses, violent crime offenses, and is thought to have had an “ongoing association with firearms notwithstanding those felony convictions.”

What’s more, Simmons is a member of the Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a conservative media-oriented panel that bolsters various conspiracy theories, including those about Hillary Clinton and Benghazi.

For more on this story, visit the Huffington PostFeds Arrest Fox News Commentator, Allege He Lied About CIA Past”

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced