WASHINGTON (AP)  A retired U.S. Navy commander awarded for his service during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks went on trial Tuesday on charges that he used an old injury to get money from the victims' compensation fund. In opening arguments, a federal prosecutor accused Charles Coughlin and his wife, Sabrina, of stealing $331,034 from the fund by filing a false claim saying that the injury was from the terrorist attack. Attorneys for the Coughlins said the claim was legitimate. They said Charles Coughlin seriously injured his neck when a plane crashed into the Pentagon about 75 feet from his office and pieces of the ceiling hit his head. They said he was hurt again when he went back into the burning building to rescue others and ran into a door jam. Coughlin was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Purple Heart for his actions and injuries that day. Prosecutors contend Coughlin's symptoms are from a 1998 injury that he suffered while doing home repairs. Justice Department attorney Susan Menzer suggested he wrote his own Purple Heart commendation and it was approved by military leaders busy preparing for war who took him at his word. "This case is about greed — simple, old-fashioned greed," Menzer said. She described the Coughlins as "schemers" and "opportunists" who took advantage of the generous fund that Congress designed to give quick compensation to those physically injured and the families of those killed in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. "They seized the opportunity to steal from the United States government," Menzer said. "They're not just partners for life, they're partners in crime." Menzer showed the jury an enlarged photo of Coughlin playing lacrosse after he said had suffered a partial permanent disability, running down the field with the stick over his head. She said he remained active for someone who claimed to be hurt — running the New York City marathon two months after the attacks in three hours and 40 minutes, and dislocating his finger playing basketball three months after the attacks. Coughlin's attorney, Jay Graham, responded that he had been an avid sportsman, a former lacrosse player at the Naval Academy who continued to play competitively and had been chosen as the MVP of his league in the two years before the attacks. Graham said after the attacks Coughlin tried to keep up his athletics, including going ahead with the marathon he'd been training for, but couldn't compete at the previous level and has since gave up sports altogether. And Graham pointed out that Coughlin's New York City marathon time was actually three hours, 43 minutes, which he said "was an embarrassment" to the man who had previously run a marathon in 3:11 and was hoping to get under three hours. He said Coughlin ran the race in pain, to prove that the terrorists could not intimidate him. Graham said Coughlin is an honest and brave man — evidenced in part by his courage to take on prosecutors in this case. He outlined his accomplishments — a graduate of the Naval Academy and Harvard Business School who spent most of his 21-year military career in the submarine service, with a top-secret security clearance and shared command of nuclear submarines. After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Graham said his client spent hours at the Pentagon, trying to help others out of the building and helping set up a triage area for the injured. He asked the jury whether those were the actions of "the selfish, greedy opportunistic con man." "It's basically up to you to decide whether Commander Coughlin is a hero or a fraud," Graham said. Graham argued that Coughlin's previous injuries made him more vulnerable to the Sept. 11 injuries, but that he was not on medication or feeling pain before the attacks. Graham said since the attacks, Coughlin has had to take prescription pain killers three times a day to prevent spasms, undergo physical therapy and avoid sleeping on his left side. Graham said Coughlin's friends, family, fellow athletes and the defendant himself will testify how he changed. Menzer said she will call Coughlin's doctors and will show how he "actively schemed to manipulate medical records" and hide his longtime neck and back pain from the victim's compensation fund. Sabrina Coughlin, who spent much of her time in court moving her fingers over rosary beads held in her lap, is accused of making false statements to the victims compensation fund to help win the award for her husband of 27 years. She had said her husband's days of competitively playing sports with their four children were only a memory. Prosecutors say the couple submitted faked receipts that helped drive up their compensation. The Coughlins' attorneys argued that Sabrina Coughlin is a loving wife and mother who sometimes struggled to keep the checkbook and made innocent accounting mistakes that the prosecution will "beat to death." But they said she was honest in her claims. In its indictment, the government sought to collect the money that the Coughlins were awarded from the fund, along with property derived from it including their home in Severna Park, Md., a 2002 Mercedes Benz C230 and a 2002 Honda Odyssey. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. 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