— A Raleigh man who told local authorities last year that he was tailing a van with a bomb inside was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison for making up the story.

Christian Gerald Desgroux, 59, pleaded guilty in March to maliciously conveying false information, conveying a hoax and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Desgroux called 911 on Nov. 27 and told a dispatcher that he was a federal officer who was following a white van believed to have a bomb inside. He said people inside the van were planning to drive to Washington, D.C., to detonate the bomb and had opened fire on him during his pursuit, according to authorities.

Eighteen Raleigh police officers responded, shutting down Glenwood Avenue in both directions for 45 minutes, authorities said.

Desgroux continued to represent himself as a federal officer to police, but investigators found no bomb and no guns, although the van was real.

In November 2017, Desgroux chartered a helicopter and landed it on a soccer field at SAS headquarters in Cary. He was wearing the uniform of an Army lieutenant general and told a security officer he was there to pick up a female employee and take her to Fort Bragg for a classified briefing authorized by President Donald Trump, authorities have said.

The woman did have a visit planned with Desgroux to assist with a design project, but she expected him to arrive by car, authorities said. Instead, they went on a 30-minute helicopter ride around Raleigh.

The woman, who is married, said she thought Desgroux was trying to impress her by flying her around, authorities said.

He pleaded guilty a year ago to pretending to be a military officer and was on supervised release on that charge when the bomb hoax occurred last fall. As a result, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle on Thursday gave him a 10-month prison sentence for violating his probation, which will run at the same time as his 30-month sentence.