His feel-good story, of being saved from certain death by a well-placed biblical book, had made headlines across the US in February.
Four months later, Rickey Wagoner is back in the news.
Police in the Dayton, Ohio say the 49-year-old bus driver had lied when he told them that he was attacked, shot, stabbed and robbed by three black teens.
Wagoner had even told cops that two of the bullets struck a copy of "The Message," a contemporary take on the New Testament, that he had in his chest pocket.
But police said Wagoner staged the attack, shooting himself in the arm and placing the Bible-like book on the asphalt before pumping two slugs into it.
The stab wounds on his arms were not the defensive wounds expected of someone fighting off an attacker, but rather "hesitation wounds" inflicted by a person stabbing themselves, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Wagoner originally told police that he was attacked on February 24 by three black teens in hoodies, their faces covered by bandanas, after his trolley had an electrical problem and broke down.
His claim had also prompted the FBI to investigate the alleged attack as a hate crime.
The incident was picked up by American national news outlets and featured on several morning TV shows.
But further investigation turned up only Wagoner's DNA and blood at the scene, despite his claim that he had wrestled away the knife and stabbed one of his attackers. And a blue bandana found at the scene turned up only dog hairs, police said.
Meanwhile, Dayton city's Regional Transit Authority has began the process of firing Wagoner, a 10-year veteran driver with a sparkling record, after learning of the allegations.
"This incident has been tremendously upsetting to our customers, RTA employees and to the Greater Dayton Community," executive director Mark Donaghy said in a statement.
"All of us at RTA are angry at the thought that an employee would allegedly mislead the police....," Donaghy said.
Police have not charged Wagoner with a crime, the report said.
