America's Got Talent fraud Timothy Poe 'receives death threats'... as his future in competition hangs in the balance



America’s Got Talent contestant Timothy Poe has received death threats after presenting a bogus sob story on the show.



The aspiring singer and his family have been subjected to threatening phonecalls and taunts after serious doubts were cast over the authenticity of background, according to TMZ .

His loved ones are said to be concerned about his state of mind, with some fearing he may be suffering from post traumatic stress.



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Controversial: Timothy Poe told the judges he spent 14 years in the military, and suffered a broken back and brain injury when he was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2009 Fake: The contestant admitted this picture is not actually of him. It is of a soldier named Sgt. Norman Bone who has never met the aspiring singer

Poe was initially voted through to the next round but his future in the competition now hangs in the balance.

TMZ reports that producers will 'definitely' edit upcoming footage, but it's unclear whether they will axe Poe altogether.



'I was blown away that I was totally taken in,' judge Howie Mandell said today. 'I'm really angry with the guy.'



On Monday night's show, Poe claimed he was injured during a grenade blast in Afghanistan, but there is no military record of his purported combat injuries.

He also gave producers a picture of his time with the military, but has since admitted it was not really him in the snapshot.

'I must have sent the wrong picture from my hard drive to AGT,’ Poe said yesterday.

Lie? War veteran Tim Poe said he was left injured and stuttering from a grenade while serving in Afghanistan and wowed the judges with his singing on the show

'I was trying to hurry and get the picture to them that I did not take the time to really make sure. I apologize.'

He failed to address other questions about his history.

The photograph he presented is actually of a soldier named Sgt. Norman Bone and it was first posted on the Department of Defense’s Web site.

The image was used in a video montage to introducing Poe.

Bone was shocked and appalled after seeing the picture of himself on television.

'First thing that came to my mind was "Why would this lying son of a b***h do this?" I'm absolutely furious. Been seeing red all day,' Bone, who is serving in El Paso, told TMZ.

Bone added that he has never met Poe and is considering legal action against him.

A spokesperson for the show told the webiste: 'We sincerely apologize to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone for using a photo of him in our story on Tim Poe. It was supplied to us by Tim and used on the show in good faith. It has now been removed and will not be used again.'



Poe told the judges he spent 14 years in the military, and suffered a broken back and brain injury when he was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2009.

'I had volunteered for a team to go out and clear buildings and help out with the wounded,' Poe said during a taped interview on the show. 'There was a guy who come up with a rocket-propelled grenade.



'I saw it coming down, and by the time I turned and went to jump on top of my guys, I yelled "grenade" and the blast had hit me.'



According to military records, Poe served with the Minnesota Army National Guard from December 2002 through May 2011, working as a supply specialist.

Records show he was deployed in Kosovo from October 10, 2007, to July 15, 2008, and then served in Afghanistan for about a month in 2009.



'Sgt Poe's official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports,' Lt Col Kevin Olson, a spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement.



The judges all gave him a yes vote: From left, Howard Stern, Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandel

Olson noted that Poe did not receive the Purple Heart, which is given to those who are injured in enemy combat. Poe didn't claim he had received the award.



'We looked very closely at his record,' Olson said in a telephone interview. 'We did not find something to substantiate what he said.'



An NBC spokeswoman said the network and Poe had no comment.



Poe told the judges that he was from San Antonio, Texas. The television show listed his age as 35.



Poe had a stutter when he spoke with the judges, which he attributed to his brain injury. The stutter disappeared when he sang.



He also didn't appear to stutter when he spoke with the show's host after his performance.



When he was describing his injury, Poe said during the video clip: 'When I was laying there I thought I'd never see my daughter walk down the aisle or throw the baseball with my son or be able to hold them and see them. ... I didn't want my life to be over.'



He said singing has helped him deal with the injury.



'I'm just happy to be here,' he told the three celebrity judges, who each gave him a 'yes' vote to advance to the show's next round.



Tim Poe, Austin Auditions ~ America's Got Talent... by HumanSlinky

