UPDATE (5:15 p.m. on Friday, March 24): 13 News reached out to Linn via social media and he provided us with the following statement:

I am contacting you directly. The situation in Mingo County will be dealt with in court. My attorney has advised me to keep comments to a minimum, but I can without a doubt verify that the accusations are fully baseless, and that there are multiple outright verifiable lies in the documents submitted to law enforcement. This is nothing more than character assasination [sic] as a result of being a whistleblower on the state of EMS and fire coverage in Mingo County. We will be dealing with this matter as per the court’s request, and then vigorously beginning civil litigation for all necessary parties for character assasination, [sic] libel, defamation, et al.

Christopher Lee Linn, also known as Christopher Beckinsale

UPDATE (2:07 p.m. on Friday, March 24): We are learning new information about a man who authorities say impersonated a paramedic.

According to a criminal complaint, Christopher Lee Linn, also known as Christopher Beckinsale, made a TikTok video on Feb. 2, 2023, saying that he was a paramedic and “provided care to an unknown individual.” The complaint says that Linn is not a paramedic in the state of West Virginia or any other state, confirmed by the Office of Medical Services for West Virginia through the national Emergency Services registry.

In another criminal complaint dated March 15, 2023, Linn is accused of not returning several items totaling up to $10,000 issued to him by the chief of Wharncliffe Volunteer Fire Department.

And yet another criminal complaint from March 15, 2023, says that Linn took a breathing apparatus used for fire fighting from the Baisden Volunteer Fire Department. The apparatus was valued at approximately $15,000.

In August of 2016, a man with the same name was sentenced to 58 months in prison for firearm and identity theft charges. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, Christopher Lee Linn pleaded guilty to one count of false statement in the acquisition of a firearm and one count of aggravated identity theft.

MINGO COUNTY, WV (WOWK) — A Gilbert Creek man was arrested and charged with impersonating a paramedic on Thursday.

Christopher Lee Linn, also known as Christopher Lee Beckinsale, is being charged with grand larceny, obtaining goods under false pretenses and impersonating a paramedic, according to the Mingo County Sheriff’s Office.

A TikTok user by the name of Chris Beckinsale has posted videos that are critical of emergency response in West Virginia.

13 News is working to get more information on Linn’s arrest.