Man charged with impersonating famous country singer's son

A Kalispell man has been accused of chartering a private jet to Mexico while impersonating Noel Haggard (son of country music legend Merle Haggard) and then charging the $61,000 bill to a companion's credit card.

Mark G. Sams, 49, pleaded innocent Tuesday to federal fraud charges: one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, Sams introduced himself to the alleged victim as Noel Haggard in April 2007. They met through the victim's mother, who was dating Sams' roommate.

Sams told the victim he and his roommate met during rehab at Pathways Treatment Center in Kalispell.

During a dinner at the victim's house, Sams - still impersonating Noel Haggard - told the victim he had been a Learjet pilot with Clay Lacy Aviation for 20 years, but had to stop flying because he had developed Parkinson's disease.

Sams said he would use a six-figure line of credit with the company he had built up through previous business dealings to arrange a paid trip to Mexico for himself, his roommate, the victim and the victim's mother.

They took the trip in early June.

But when the victim's credit card bill arrived at the end of the month, it included a $61,000 charge for the chartered jet.

Prosecutors allege Sams impersonated Noel Haggard throughout his dealings with Clay Lacy Aviation and provided the company with the victim's stolen credit card information to pay for the trip.

Sams returned to Montana and in July was arrested outside the Valley Club lounge in Ronan for signing autographs and charging a fee for people to take pictures with him - again while impersonating Noel Haggard.

After receiving several complaints, Ronan police contacted Sams and determined he was not Noel Haggard. Sams tried to tell police his name had been changed when he was a child to protect him.

An agent for the Haggard family confirmed that Sams was an impostor and not related to Merle Haggard.

Police said Sams admitted to signing autographs and posing for pictures using Noel Haggard's name, but denied accepting money for them.

If convicted of the federal charges, Sams faces as long as 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com