Jackie Albert Stern, also known as "Papasan," was
a martial arts instructor whose fraudulent activities were exposed in the
mid-1990s. He falsely claimed to have extensive military service and martial
arts expertise, including being a Medal of Honor recipient and a black belt in
Judo. In reality, Stern had served in the U.S. Army but never
saw combat or advanced beyond the rank of private. He purchased a Medal of
Honor and wore it publicly, leading to his arrest.
In December 1996, Stern pleaded guilty to wearing a Congressional
Medal of Honor without authorization and altering his military discharge papers
to obtain military and civilian benefits he wasn't entitled to. He was
sentenced to one year of probation, ordered to write apology letters to all
living Medal of Honor recipients, and required to volunteer at a Veterans
Administration hospital for 250 hours.
Additionally, Stern's martial arts credentials were fraudulent. He claimed to have trained under renowned martial artists and to have founded the Korean Yudo & Hapkido Association. However, investigations revealed that his martial arts background was fabricated, and he had been selling unearned and fake ranks to students.
To get the complete picture you certainly have to read part one of USA vs Stern here - https://theninjerkiller.blogspot.com/2025/02/usa-vs-jack-papasan-stern-sterns-yudo.html.
Jack Stern's entire history was dug up by the Broward County Sheriff's Dept and the FBI and then it was all laid out in court. There are a lot more details that showcase the extent that Stern's lies went to. There were indeed some very surprising things too much to cover in a article or two. Stern was so bold with his lies he told law enforcement of his exploits in war and that he was a karate champion. The lies that Stern personally told deputies, on his ride alongs with them, are what lead to his arrest and conviction.
According to court records and police reports and even news paper articles, The truth about Jackie Stern all starts with his Medal of Honor claims he used the claims to set himself up as a judo and hapkido instructor upon moving to Florida. Stern testified that he had bought the Medal of Honor at a New Jersey military memorabilia show in 1986 for $500. Stern said that for two years, he hid the medal of Honor in a box. Then in 1988, he told his family that he had won the Medal of Honor in the Korean War.
Stern's lies grew bigger from there.
In 1989, Stern moved to the Bonaventure subdivision in Fort Lauderdale, where he told his new neighbors he had been a prisoner of war. Stern started going to the sheriff's substation and do ride alongs patrolling neighborhoods in its Citizen Observer Patrol program. During his "ride alongs" Stern started telling deputies he was a paratrooper with the 187th Airborne and expanded his credentials to include retired New York City police detective, martial arts and judo claims and of all things a Karate champion.
Stern's many claims to the various deputies he rode with included being a Army captain, that had "won" the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He claimed he was wounded in enemy action in October 1950 in Suchon, Korea. Stern claimed he was a POW and that he wore the ears of the enemy around his neck.
Stern's "war stories" and claims got so outlandish and brazen that the Sherriff's Dept. started looking into Stern.
Det. SGT. Ciacciarelli's investigation revealed that a stolen medal of honor had been taken from the New York area about the time Stern showed up. Ciacciarelli concluded that Stern hadn't stolen the medal, but he contacted the FBI about Stern's many military claims. The ensuing investigation revealed that Stern altered his military service record on his official Defense Department form (DD214).
According to Stern’s real military record, Stern had served in the Army but he never left the country, was never overseas, never stepped foot in Korea, never saw combat, and was never promoted above the rank of private.
On May 31, 1996 Ciacciarelli setting up a sting operation to arrest Stern, persuaded Stern to bring the medal into the station on the pretense of being photographed with Ciacciarelli's son and other deputies. An FBI agent sat waiting in an adjoining room. Pictures were taken of Stern proudly displaying the medal before he was informed he was under arrest. Then Stern was shown a copy of his actual DD214.
Immediately upon seeing the military document Stern began CRYING AND SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY. Without being asked a single question Stern admitted to Sgt. Circciarelli and the FBI that he lied about his entire background. Stern admitted that he altered and falsified his dd214 and other military documents to collect benefits that he wasn't entitled to.
Stern used this medal of honor claim to get his foot into a karate school to teach Judo and Hapkido. He falsified rank certificates and martial arts association cards. Stern had told the school owner that he had half a century of background in judo with the great judo masters of Japan. He had ripped those students off by selling worthless judo rank and fake rank certificates to the karate students based on their karate rank.
Stern pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Fort
Lauderdale to wearing a Congressional Medal of Honor without authorization and
altering his military discharge papers to obtain military and civilian benefits
that he wasn't entitled to. Newspaper articles and people present at the
sentencing say that Stern apologized to everyone military, police and to the
martial artists he had defrauded.
Stern was ordered to publish a public letter of apology in a quarter-page newspaper advertisement featured in the Sun-Sentinel newspaper on Memorial Day in 1997. Additionally, Stern was required to write personal apology letters to all 174 living Medal of Honor recipients. Lastly, Stern was ordered to volunteer at a Veterans Administration hospital for 250 hours. Stern was also to submit himself for psychiatric and mental health treatment.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to Jack Albert Papasan Stern, he should be a case study of martial arts and criminal fraud. There are a mountain of lies that have been built over the years even after his death. So many that in fact that there is no way to address them all in just a couple of articles. Stern was so brazen with his lies, he told them directly to the Broward county Sheriff's deputies who he would ride around with in the Sheriff's department's citizen observer patrol program.
There is no understanding why a sociopathic pathological liar lies. They just do. It's a default mechanism. They cant even tell you the truth about when or where they had lunch. Pathological liars may be driven by a need for attention, power, or to maintain a fabricated image and to appear more successful than they really are.
Court records show Stern only had about six letters written to the judge, on his behalf, asking for leniency. Two of those letters were from his wife and son. It is fair to mention that all six of these letters to the judge blamed Stern's behavior, actions and fraud on a "massive and debilitating stroke", which according to his son left him 100 percent disabled. In the nineties Stern, was according to reports, walking with a cane.
I don't buy that the stroke affected Stern's judgement. Stern had admitted to Sgt. Ciacciarell that he didn't want anyone to think he was a loser.
This "need" to deceive others is typically for some personal benefit and in cases even personal financial gain. When a pathological liar engages in fraud, their lies are often intricately woven into their schemes to deceive others even taking advantage of family and friends. They may say you're a friend or refer to those around him as family but this is not thevtruth ....you are a just someone to potentially be taken advantage of. What is understood is that lying is just a tool for them....a means to an end.
Looking at the pictures that are supposedly of Stern over the years there isn't a single picture of him doing any techniques. What we see are pictures that are supposedly him sitting next to somebody...like Mas Oyama who was in street clothes and a hawaiian shirt. Not in a gi or dobok. Not a single picture was taken with Oyama in a dojo doing a single technique or being an uke for such a legendary karateka that movies have been made about? Well getting picture with the actor who plays Daredevil at comic con doesn't mean your in the movie with him....it just means you're a fan.
What's been placed on the internet by Stern and those who perpetuate his martial facade is pure Walter Mitty fantasy and out right lies. Those who have perpetuated the lies of Jackie Albert "Papasan" Stern have relied for several years on a single thing; that the court records that shed light on the fraudulent martial arts claims that Stern perpetuated in the Florida Judo and Korean martial art community could not be found.
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| Statement from a police trainer and firearms instructor and judoka submitted to the judge and admitted to the court. |
Stern bragged about being a war hero, a medal of honor, silver star and bronze star recipient, a Green Beret, Airborne, Special forces bad ass who had “half a century of judo background training with the great masters of Japan, a deadly hapkido master from Korea and Karate champion. The Bull shit was piled high!
When placed under arrest for his fraud, Stern started crying and sobbing hysterically. Wailing for his wife to come and take him home so loud that his wails could be heard through the entire building of the Broward County Sherriff's dept.....well Boo Hoo, Jackie.
According to testimony and accounts from law enforcement personnel Stern found himself looking at some pissed off local deputies and detectives. Not just because Stern had claimed to be retired fellow law enforcement detective but because a lot of Broward County Sheriff's Department officers were also practicing judoka.
Damn karma can be a mother fucker.
Judo, Hapkido and Hakko ryu are the arts stated to have been the background of Stern per the former KONTEI JUDO WEBSITE and Stern's own KYHA WEBSITE.
What was proven in court and court dockets, was that Stern was a martial arts fraud. Stern admitted this to police and in court while crying and sobbing. Ernie Lopez, who wrote for the USA TAEKWONDO MAGAZINE sat in the court as Stern wept and sobbed apologizing to the military. law enfocement and the martial artists that he had defrauded.
In my search for any information on the "storied" martial arts history of Jack papasan Stern (as according to Bret Gordon and the Kontei Judo website), there is no record of Stern ever training in Judo, Hapkido or Hakko Ryu Jujutsu.
I checked with resources and records in the USA and abroad concerning Stern’s many membership cards in Judo, Hapkido and Hakko ryu that were displayed on the lineage page of the Kontei Judo website.
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There were a total of twelve member cards from various martial arts organzations and a xeroxed rank certifcate, that were supposedly Stern's pictured on the Kontei Judo webite.....NOT A SINGLE ONE CHECKED OUT.
An email was sent to the Kodokan along with a screen cap of the stern's supposed Kodokan card Gordon claimed was Stern's. The Kodokan from Japan responded with that there was no record of a Jack Stern ever training at the kodokan. No data could be found by name or birth date or card ID number in thier records..jpg)
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| 1st picture: In 1954, Hal Sharpe (circled) won the title as “Japan Foreigner Judo Champion”. The tournament was conducted by Kyuzo Mifune (3rd from left), 10th Dan. Center picture: Chu Kawakami, 9th Dan, and his son Rei Kawakami, 4th Dan, and Hal Sharp (circled), 3rd Dan and Captain of Kawakami’s dojo team. 3rd picture: Shinzo Takagaki and Hal Sharpe (circled). |
Additionally, the Korean Judo Federation found no records of Stern. I attempted to verify the claims of Stern training in Hapkido through the World Hapkido Federation. Not surprisingly, there are no records of Stern being involved in the art.
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At some point after Stern's conviction a claim that Stern trained with Naraki Hara in hakko ryu was presented. Then years later after Stern's death the claim expanded from just training in Hakko ryu to training Goshindo Kempo under Hara as well. I reached out to various people involved with Hakko ryu and Goshindo through Naraki Hara. It comes as no surprise that there are no records of Stern training Naraki Hara.
In 1964 Naraki Hara was an official representative of Hakko-ryu sent to the USA. This group as I was told is only in its second generation. To my understanding any claims of Stern training with them means that Stern would have had to be a member and active with Naraki Hara. https://web.archive.org/web/20221207065805/http:/www.join-usama.com/blog/in-loving-memory-of-papasan-jack-stern
I have also spoken to numerous representatives of Hakko Ryu Jujutsu and there are no records of Stern, this includes an alleged photograph of Stern with Naraki Hara-sensei. The xeroxed photo (pictured above) that is claimed to be Stern sitting next Naraki Hara......is in fact not Jack Stern. I want to be clear here everyone in the photo belonged to the same school. Stern never trained at that school. Stern was never a member or student of any of their seniors.
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There is zero evidence to show that Stern ever trained in any of the arts mentioned on the Kontei site. The evidence that has been presented such as Stern's member cards and a Xeroxed USJA rank certificate has been found to have been created, fabricated, or taken from other sources. Stern was in fact banned from Judo organizations for submitting fake documentation as his proof of rank.
This fabricated documentation has since been presented as Mr. Stern’s martial arts background, a fictional past which grew larger AFTER Stern passed away in 2012. More lies were built upon Stern’s lies after he died.
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Jack Stern FABRICATED many stories, and documentation along with it. This included martial arts documents, member cards and rank certificates. There are no records of Stern doing anything in any regards to the martial arts aside from showing up at random Judo events and telling people wild stories of his son being a gold medalist judoka and introducing himself as a tenth dan in judo.
All of the martial arts claims regarding Jack Stern rested on one thing...... his supposed overseas service in the military. Stern never served overseas.
Stern's fake judo and martial arts claims garnered him permanent bans from USA Judo, United States Judo Association and The United States Judo Federation, all three of the National Governing Bodies for Judo in the United States.
https://www.usajudo.com/disciplinary-actions
https://www.usjf.com/membership-expelled-and-suspended-list/
https://www.usja.net/suspended
Lastly, I will add that his alleged art of “Kojido” or “Kojidojutsu” or Stern’s Yudo is either a figment of Stern’s creative lies or someone else fabricated it after Stern passed away and Stern was posthumously given credit for having founded it. Either way the martial art training Stern would have had to have undertaken in order to create the art is just not there.
Rank from Jack Stern in anything is worthless, its fraud, its fake. Any form of perpetuation of Sterns fake Martial arts claims..... is intended brazen and purposeful fraud.
Other related information:
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/5-offenders-who-received-creative-punishments-for-stolen-valor/
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/12/05/lies-catch-up-with-hero/
