text: BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it's looking for a man who has cost the service about $500,000 after responding to nearly 30 of his fake distress calls. 
   
   In a press release published Friday, the Coast Guard says the 28 calls have originated from around the area of Annapolis, Maryland. 
   
   Each call involved the same male voice and used an emergency radio channel. He's been making the calls since July 2014. The two most recent calls were made on the night of July 21 and the early morning of July 22. 
   
   The Coast Guard also says hoax calls distract rescuers from real emergencies, putting both the public and the responding crews at risk. ||||| A hoax caller in Maryland cost the Coast Guard about $500,000 in the past two years by making false distress alerts. 
   
   The caller made 28 false distress alerts from Annapolis, Maryland, beginning in July 2014, according to the Coast Guard. The two most recent calls were received Thursday and Friday, the Coast Guard reported. They also said they determined the calls to have originated from Annapolis, between Loretta Heights and Admiral Drive. 
   
   The estimated cost of the responses to these false alarms is $500,000. 
   
   The Coast Guard provided an audio file of the caller, in which the caller repeats “mayday” -- a word used to indicate distress at sea. 
   
   Making false distress calls is a felony, punishable by a maximum of six years in prison, a $10,000 civil fine, $250,000 criminal fine and a reimbursement to the Coast Guard for their efforts, the Coast Guard said. 
   
   The Coast Guard also said such false distress alerts detract from their ability to respond to actual alerts. 
   
   “A hoax call is a deadly and serious offense,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sara Wallace, who heads the response sector in Maryland. “Calls like these not only put our crews at risk, but they put the lives of the public at risk.” 
   
   Anyone with information about the caller is asked to contact the Coast Guard's regional command center at 410-576-2525 or email investigators at CGIS-Baltimore@uscg.mil.
target: – The US Coast Guard says it's looking for a man who has cost the service about $500,000 after responding to nearly 30 of his fake distress calls, reports the AP. In a press release published Friday, the Coast Guard says the 28 calls have originated from around the area of Annapolis, Maryland. Each call involved the same male voice and used an emergency radio channel. He's been making the calls since July 2014. The two most recent calls were made on the night of July 21 and the early morning of July 22. “A hoax call is a deadly and serious offense,” a Coast Guard rep tells NBC4, which notes that such calls are a felony that carry six years in prison, $10,000 civil fine, $250,000 criminal fine, and reimbursement to the Coast Guard. "Calls like these not only put our crews at risk, but they put the lives of the public at risk.”