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He even stole the name of a fictional FBI unit from the Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop in an effort to prove his credentials.
After complaints about Jakob's allegedly aggressive conduct his deception were uncovered by a local newspaper reporter in the 1,200-population town.
The bankrupt father-of-two has now been charged with 23 offences including impersonating a police officer, and is also facing private action from at least 17 people angry at his tactics.
An elderly woman claims that she was forced into a psychiatric ward after failing to co-operate, and one man claims the fake officer held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him in front of his children.
The motives for the deception are unclear. Jakob said in an interview that he "purely wanted to help" fight crime in the town.
As well as showing his fake badge and car when he arrived in the town in February, Jakob gave officers a number to call to verify his identify.
A woman at the other end of the phone confirmed he was from the FBI's "multijurisdictional task force", a nonexistent unit mentioned in the Beverly Hills Cops films.
"He had credentials. He had a badge. He had a phone number to call for verification," said Otis Schulte, the town's mayor. "I don't know what else we could have done."
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