DENVER -- A Denver-based veterans organization has voted to disband after accusing its founder of fabricating an identity as a former Marine captain who served three tours in Iraq and was at the Pentagon on 9/11.

Thirty-two-year-old Richard Glen Strandlof, who used the name Rick Duncan, founded the organization, the Colorado Veterans Alliance, about two years ago.

Major Carl Redding, spokesman for the U.S. Marines, said there is no record of Richard Glen Strandlof or Rick Duncan serving in the Marines.

The accusations were first reported by The Gazette.

A spokesman for the organization, Daniel Warvi, said the group had hoped to continue without Strandolf, but decided to disband Wednesday night after a board meeting.

"As far as we're concerned, Rick has permanently damaged the integrity of the CVA and there's nothing we can do to repair it," Warvi told the Gazette.

Police arrested Strandlof Tuesday night on an outstanding traffic warrant from El Paso County. He is in custody at Denver City Jail on $1,000 bond.

The group grew suspicious of Strandolf when they started pursuing a nonprofit status and found inconsistencies after digging into his past.

Strandolf appeared several times as a campaign spokesperson attacking Republicans in 2008 on national security issues.

Colorado Republican State Chairman Dick Wadhams said "It is appalling that Mark Udall and other Colorado Democrats were either willfully deceptive or terribly careless in using an imposter posing as a veteran."

"We now know the shameless lies used against Republicans last year were as credible as this fake veteran," Wadhams said in a statement.

Strandof, who turned 32 Wednesday, was active in fighting for the rights of homeless veterans in Colorado Springs. He often spoke with reporters and true veterans telling a story that he had survived the Sept. 11 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and fought in Iraq.

Warvi said the members of the former alliance will now focus on helping the FBI in its investigation into whether Strandlof could have swindled any donations he may have collected in the name of Colorado veterans.