He can claim anything, he started saying that when he realized he could easily be busted as a fraud. The only problem is there is a long history of him and his name (Tom Wright) in the town in which he resides. The only reason a guy who works in a trinket shop would change his name would be, well, to avoid scrutiny online after he claims to be a SEAL. The problem is, his name is really Tom Wright and it's documented.