Jeff Treu Investigated For Stolen Valor, Resigns As Police Chief

Courtesy Photo

​An Antelope County man — who until last week also served as the Wisner Chief of Police — is under investigation after allegedly falsifying his military career.

Jeff Treu’s resignation as Wisner Police Chief was accepted Monday night by the City Council. Treu, who still has a residence near Tintern Monastery outside of Oakdale, had his military career with the U.S. Marines called into question after Ryan Smith, a Howard County deputy and a retired Navy chief petty officer, filed a Freedom of Information request with the National Personnel Records Center.

Smith publicly shared the documents on social media on May 10. Phone calls to Treu from the Antelope County News seeking comment have not been returned.

Public record request responses were provided on July 25, 2018, and again on March 14, 2019, with similar letters that stated, “We have been unable to identify a military services record for this individual.” The 2018 request was for Jeff Treu and the 2019 request was for Jeffrey John Treu.

Smith posted that he confronted Treu about having presented “himself as a U.S. Marine for the past 30 years.”

“I got him to admit to his mistake, but I feel so utterly betrayed as he used that military connection to gain a friendship with me,” Smith wrote. “Why do people do this? Where is the honor and decency in these posers? I just want to throw up.”

Falsely representing one’s self as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal is a federal misdemeanor under the Stolen Valor Act. The penalty may include imprisonment of up to six months.

Tom Nelson, who is the post commander of the American Legion in Tilden and also the Antelope County Veterans Service Officer, said he is aware of the allegations against Treu and is cooperating with law enforcement.

“His membership to the Tilden Legion was revoked on Friday,” Nelson said. “County-wise, everything has been turned over to law enforcement to be investigated.”

Nelson took over as the county officer in June 2017 after he served 24 years in the U.S. Army. Nelson said Treu never received any county or federal VA benefits, as far as he is aware. The American Legion Post 170 in Tilden also revoked his membership on Friday.

Treu has worked in law enforcement for decades. After a stint with the Grand Island Police Department, he began working at the Antelope County Sheriff’s Department in late 2001, according to Sheriff Bob Moore, who was not in office during that time.

Court documents from a lawsuit against Antelope County show Treu was suspended in January 2007 and fired the following month.

In 2008, Treu sued Antelope County and then-Sheriff Darrell Hamilton. According to court documents, Treu alleged he was fired after complaints about department operations and reported a deputy used a criminal database to do background checks on them, their significant others, fellow officers and other county officials. That, the documents said, violated his civil rights. The federal case was settled in May 2009. Treu was awarded $6,909.

Treu most recently was hired as the Wisner Police Chief in April 2018. In November, he was the guest speaker at the West Point-Beemer High School Veterans Day program.

Treu also previously owned a bar in Tilden called Heros, co-owned HEROS EMS and was a member of the Tilden Legion, Lincoln Legion Riders, Dodge Sons of the Legion and other organizations. He also traveled to Washington D.C. as a volunteer EMT with the veteran honor flights through Patriotic Productions and, according to the company’s Facebook page, collected donations on their behalf.