Daniel Roy sat hunched over on the southeast corner of Bloor St. and St. George last week, legs outstretched, his head sinking to the ground between his knees.

In front of him was a sign that read: “Retired military. Sick and homeless. Please help.”

Wearing a dark green military jacket decorated with insignia and a maroon beret, he thanked strangers that dropped coins into his small tin or stopped to bring him food, and gave the sign of the cross when a man handed him a $20-bill.

Roy, 49, was arrested and charged with unlawfully wearing a uniform of the Canadian Forces on Tuesday morning.

Toronto Police were notified of Roy’s actions after a veteran suspected his uniform was not legitimate.

Police spokesperson Meghan Gray said he was arrested and charged for unlawfully wearing a military uniform of the Canadian Forces, namely the uniform of a Captain in the Canadian Army, contrary to Section 419 (a) of the Criminal Code.

He was released on a promise to appear in court.

Roy had told the Star last week he had served with the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia during the 1990s. He provided information about his military background, including a service number, date of birth, and location of birth, but the Star was unable to confirm that he served in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Roy said he is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and was collecting money to purchase pain medication to help treat his stomach cancer.

The Department of National Defence could not confirm or deny that Roy served with the Canadian Armed Forces based on the information he had provided to the Star. Rob Prouse, a veteran of the Airborne Regiment, was unable to find a record of a man under the name in the nominal roll that listed those deployed to Somalia in the early 1990s.

Prouse listed many issues with the uniform Roy was seen wearing: the badge above the medal ribbons would not be worn on a Canadian uniform; the badge on the maroon cap is not from any unit that was authorized to wear the beret in Canada; the jump wings aren’t Canadian, and the flags on the lapels should be unit insignia.

A volunteer from Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada, an organization that works with helping homeless and at-risk veterans, was planning on reaching out to Roy, said co-founder Debbie Louther.

Louther said over the past six years, the organization has dealt with one person a year on average that has lied about having served for the country.

Her primary concern in such circumstances is over the safety and well-being of that person.

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“There are a lot of veterans out there, not necessarily homeless veterans, but people who take the stolen-valour thing to a whole other level,” she said.

“We’re all human beings. Some have served in the military. Some of us didn’t. In a situation where, if you know someone was wearing a uniform for some reason and they weren’t in the military, the first thing that would come to my mind would be mental illness. People that live on the streets are humans, regardless of what they are wearing.”

Last year, a Quebec man pleaded guilty to unlawfully wearing a uniform and medals during the 2014 national Remembrance Day ceremony. Franck Gervais, of Cantley, Que., was sentenced to probation and community service.