Thread: Dead people's identities stolen to cover up wrongdoing

Dead people's identities stolen to cover up wrongdoing

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 18, 2008
(09-17) 10:43 PDT SAN FRANCISCO --

Nearly 30 Bay Area residents are among the more than 100 people who have been accused since 2005 of passport fraud for allegedly using the birth certificates of dead people, authorities said.

Several of the defendants have been convicted of stealing dead people's identities to cover up their status as illegal immigrants, military deserters or convicted drunken drivers, federal officials said.

Between July 2005 and August of this year, 112 people were charged in federal court as part of the investigation, which federal officials called "Operation Deathmatch." Authorities seized $650,000 in cash, a Mercedes-Benz, three guns and more than 80 of the fraudulent passports.

Some defendants used the identities of dead people for decades, and their neighbors, spouses, employers and children never knew them by their true names, authorities said.

One defendant, Jade-Blue Eclipse, is an acrobat from Japan who remains a fugitive after failing to appear for sentencing, authorities said. She has performed in San Francisco and is an undocumented immigrant, authorities said.

Another defendant was Matthew Forristal of Berkeley, a 16-year deserter of the U.S. Navy who was sentenced to probation in November 2006.

Investigators said Chih-Fong Chen of Atherton, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, was arrested while working at an immigration law firm. Chen was sentenced to probation last year.

John White of Mountain View admitted that he stole a dead man's identity to conceal a drunken-driving conviction from employers, authorities said.

E-mil Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 12VO5L.DTL

HomeWorldBusinessTechArchiveTravelPropertyForumJob sColumnsEntertainmentContactSuspects Charged with Federal Passport Fraud
The Investigation Resulted in the Seizure of $650,000 and
the Recovery of 80 Fraudulently Issued United States Passports
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s San Francisco and Los Angeles Field Offices and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Sacramento Field Office announced today the results of Operation Deathmatch, the largest ever investigation into the issuance of fraudulently obtained United States passports.

Between July 2005 and August 2008, 112 individuals were charged with federal passport fraud and related offenses around the country. The government also seized three firearms, $650,000 in cash, one Mercedes automobile, and over 80 of the fraudulently obtained United States passports.

During their investigation, Diplomatic Security and FBI agents cross-matched computerized government death records with Department of State passport records. This process identified individuals who fraudulently applied for, and obtained, United States passports using birth certificates of deceased Americans.

Most of the individuals charged were arrested or surrendered themselves to federal courts. Some of the imposters remain fugitives. The passport fraud charges were filed in 23 federal judicial districts in 16 states. Federal passport offenses carry a penalty of up to 10 years confinement in federal prison.

The individuals charged included fugitives, military deserters, delinquent taxpayers, parolees, convicted felons, sex-offenders, habitual drunk drivers, and undocumented immigrants from over 20 countries. All wanted U.S. passports for the purpose of hiding from law enforcement authorities. Many of the individuals charged resided and worked in their deceased identities for decades, and in many cases their neighbors, employers, spouses and children never knew them by their true names.

The names of the individuals identified in the investigation are listed below and are sorted by federal prosecutor, along with selected facts reported in court proceedings and records:

Northern District of California – San Francisco (U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello)
MATTHEW FORRISTAL of Berkeley, CA, aka the deceased ROBERT YOUNG
RAFAEL RUVALCABA of Baypoint, CA, aka the deceased MAURICIO JIMENEZ
CONCEPCION RUEGES of Belmont, CA, aka the deceased CATHY LEE ALLEN (*)
ROBERT RUIZ of Brentwood, CA, aka the deceased ROBERT RUIZ (*)
ARMAMDO ESTRADA of Fremont, CA, aka the deceased RICHARD BELTRAN
ANGEL OROPEZA of Fremont, CA, aka the deceased JOSE GAMBOA
VERONICA MARIN of Foster City, CA, aka the deceased NANCY GOMES
RAMON INIGUEZ of Gilroy, CA, aka the deceased JUAN CID
RAYNALDO GUERRA of Hayward, CA, aka the deceased ANTONIO CAQUIAS
BRADFORD BUFKIN of Marin, CA, aka the deceased DANIEL LAGOY
JOHN WHITE of Mountain View, CA, aka the deceased KENNETH VOISINET
JOSE FAJARDO of Napa, CA, aka the deceased RAYMOND SANTANA
ROXANNE MISTRY of Oakland, CA, aka the deceased TERRI STOTTLEMIRE
RUBEN GARCIA of Oakland, CA, aka the deceased EFRAIN ORTIZ
BRYAN JONES of Oregon, aka the deceased DAVID MARCUM
ANTONIO REZA of Oxnard, CA, aka the deceased GERARDO AVILA
RUSSELL MAGDYTCH of Roseville, CA, aka the deceased DANIEL GOODMAN
WILLIAM JONES of Santa Cruz, CA, ala the deceased CARY JONES
DARRELL FISK of Santa Rosa, CA, aka the deceased THOMAS MILLER
JADEBLUE ECLIPSE of San Francisco, CA, aka the deceased CATHERINE IZOU
ROBERT VARGAS of San Francisco, CA, aka the deceased ABEL VARGAS
SAUL JUAREZ of San Francisco, CA, aka the deceased DAVID NAGLE
AMAPAL SINGH of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased JAMES SANCHEZ
HENRICK HANSEN of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased GERALD NYREEN
LEONARDO ZAVALA of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased MAXIMILIANO FLORES
JOSE MARTIN-CHACON of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased GEORGE MURO
ANTONIO FLORES of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased GEORGE MARTINEZ
SERGIO RAMOS HINJOSA of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased CARLOS TORRES
ROBERT MCMARTIN of San Jose, CA, aka the deceased CHARLES KAISER
FRANCISCO CASTELANOS of San Pablo, CA, aka the deceased AURELIA URVINA
JOHN DOE of Santa Rosa, CA, aka the deceased MANUEL URIAS (*)
MARIA CORTEZ-NAJERA of Sunnyvale, CA, aka the deceased MARIA BARRAGAN MARIA LLAMAS of Tracy, CA, aka the deceased JOSEFINA SERRANO
JOSE ZUNIGA-TORRES of Watsonville, CA, aka the deceased PEDRO ROSALES
CHRISTOPHER CLARKSON of Weston, FL, aka the deceased STEPHEN DUFFY

Eastern District of California - Sacramento/Fresno (U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott)
GARY VINCENT of Antelope, CA, aka the deceased MILES HALEY
ALAN CAMPBELL of Atwater, CA, aka the deceased THEORDORE STREETER
REYES TOPETE of Exeter, CA, aka the deceased JOSE MATUS
CYRIL OWENS of Fort Jones, CA, aka the deceased EUGENE BISHOP
CRISTOBAL PEREZ of Fresno, CA, aka the deceased DANIEL RIVAS
MARIANN GUARDADO of Fresno, CA, aka the deceased DIANA CHAVEZ
JOSEPH AJAYI of Fresno, CA, aka the deceased BENEDICT AJAYI
JANE DOE of Lake Tahoe, CA, aka the deceased ROSALES RAMIREZ (*)
DANIEL HENDERSHOT of Las Vegas, NV, aka the deceased ARNIE FIGONE
GUSTAVO PONCE of Los Angeles, CA, aka the deceased CARLOS ARBIZO
RAMON MUNOZ formerly of Porterville, CA, aka the deceased LUIS ROBLES

Central District of California - Los Angeles (U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brian)
JORGE VILLAR of Beverly Hills, CA, aka the deceased KEITH QUINZEL (*)
JANE DOE of Covina, CA, aka the deceased ESTHER MEDINA (*)
JAVIER RIOS of Las Vegas, NV, aka the deceased RODOLFO LUJAN
FREDY OUVED of Los Angeles, CA, aka the deceased JUSTIN BLUE WILSON
GUILERMO CORCUERA of Los Angeles, aka the deceased RUBEN GOMEZ
SANDRA ZELAYA of Los Angeles, CA, aka the deceased JANICE SHERMAN
SILVIANO PINEDA of Los Ã

So is the "enriching" of our culture some speak of?