BOSTON - Former Lawrence School Committee member James Stokes will plead guilty to federal charges that he forged his military discharge and lied about being awarded a Purple Heart, a U.S. magistrate judge and prosecutor said in court yesterday.

Stokes, 63, of 103 Boxford St., Lawrence, is scheduled to plead guilty at 3 p.m. on Feb. 12. He was ready to plead guilty yesterday, but the case against him is so new that it has not yet been properly assigned in the clerk's office at U.S. District Court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly would not say what he would ask for at sentencing, but federal law could put Stokes in jail for up to a year on each of the two charges against him. He also could be made to pay more than $100,000 in fines.

Stokes and his attorney, William Fick, both declined to comment.

Stokes resigned from the School Committee Jan. 11, two days after FBI agents arrested him at Top Donut on Winthrop Avenue in South Lawrence. In court later that day, prosecutors filed an FBI report saying that Stokes admitted he never served in the armed forces and that a brother, now deceased, gave him the forged discharge record. Stokes then signed it and turned it into the city in 2006, according to the report.

That discharge record claimed 20 years of service with the Marines for Stokes, but city Veterans Affairs Director Francisco Urena called it a forgery that was littered with contradictions and inaccuracies.

Yesterday, Kelly also charged in a court filing that Stokes, on Oct. 12, 2007, "did falsely represent himself, verbally, to have been awarded ... a Purple Heart medal." Kelly would not elaborate on the evidence for the charge, saying it has not yet been filed with the court. He said no plea deal has been made with Stokes.

The Purple Heart is awarded to military personnel wounded or killed in action by or against an enemy. The federal Stolen Valor Act, signed by President Bush in 2006, made it a crime to falsely claim ownership of a Purple Heart.

Questions about Stokes' military history have been raised sporadically over the past decade, especially during his four failed runs for the City Council. Accusations surfaced again after Stokes defeated incumbent Greg Morris to take the School Committee seat in November. Stokes claimed on the ballot that he was a veteran. He also has appeared in military uniform at city events. Saying he was outraged, Mayor Michael Sullivan ordered a city investigation and said he would also ask for a criminal investigation.

Later, veterans attended a School Committee meeting demanding that Stokes step down, which he did. Even School Committee member James Vittorioso, who had previously supported Stokes, said that was the right move. But Vittorioso still rued losing Stokes, who had said he would not renew Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy's contract.

Morris was sworn in as Stokes' replacement. The School Committee meets Thursday, when it is expected to vote for a vice chairman.