Tommy Tallarico's bizarre claim that he was the first American to work on the Sonic series

Tommy Tallarico has repeatedly claimed during the Intellivision Amico saga (and before it), that he was the first American to work for SEGA on the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Is this true? What do you think?
#tommytallarico #sonicthehedgehog #intellivision #intellivisionamico