Senegalese man who lived under stolen identity for 31 years sentenced to prison
Senegalese man who lived under stolen identity for 31 years sentenced to prison
By KRISTINA DAVIS
DEC. 14, 2019 3:34 PM
SAN DIEGO — A Senegalese man who assumed the identity of a dead American child for decades was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison.
Since 1988, Almamy Baba Ly, 63, has lived in the U.S. under the name Lyle Lindsey, a San Diegan who died at 1 year old after being struck by a car in 1957.
He used an altered copy of Lindsey’s birth certificate to apply for a Social Security number, a California identification card and a driver’s license, solidifying his newfound identity with official documents.
He then spent several years in the criminal justice system, in and out of custody for everything from robbery to drug sales to DUI.
After serving a prison term for robbery, he pursued his education, using Lindsey’s identity to apply for $84,000 in federal student loans and Pell Grants. He attended San Diego City College and then San Diego State University, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in social services.
He did not repay on the loans, prosecutors said.
He also applied for $4,500 in food stamps, according to his guilty plea.
Authorities became aware of possible fraud when the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Services notified the California Department of Motor Vehicles that 36 people were suspected of using the identities of deceased individuals — most who’d died as infants or very young children — to obtain driver’s licenses or ID cards.
Investigators from the DMV and Border Patrol followed a complicated trail, from DMV records and apartment leases to Facebook and student financial aid records.
In July, Border Patrol agents served a search warrant and arrested Ly at his apartment in La Mesa. During the search, agents seized a Senegalese national identification card that revealed Ly’s true name and date of birth.
As part of his plea, he agreed to pay the federal and county government a combined $88,551 in restitution. He will likely be deported after serving his sentence, prosecutors said.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2019-12-14/sengelese-man-who-lived-under-stolen-identity-for-31-years-sentenced-to-prison
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