A Rockland man is facing charges for filing a false police report, according to the Rockland Police Department.

The city’s police issued a summons to Douglas Gardner, 53, of Rockland, charging him with false public report on May 2.

Gardner initially reported to police that he had been mugged, and robbed of cash on Saturday evening by multiple assailants, the police said in a news release. Through investigation, it was determined that Gardner had actually lost his cash, and made up the story about being mugged.

"We're not without empathy," said Deputy Chief Chris Young, in the release. "People are still struggling in this economy, and sometimes resort to foolish ideas in an effort to get by. However, this idea of filing a false report wasted already limited resources by causing officers to investigate a robbery which didn't occur."

The incident was investigated by Officer John Bagley and Detective Joel Neal.