A person lived for many years below the title of a disabled U.S. Military veteran and spent 25 years in jail whereas pretending to be him, federal prosecutors in Florida mentioned.
Lorenzo Anthony Alfred, 64, lives in New York and is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. The veteran’s identity was stolen In 1988, he “illegally got here” to america and was in a position to acquire his delivery certificates and Social Safety card, in keeping with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Center District of Florida. It’s unclear how Alfred obtained the person’s identification paperwork.
Alfred was convicted of second-degree homicide below the veteran’s title in 1989 in New York and was not launched from jail till 2014, prosecutors mentioned.
After serving his jail sentence in New York, Alfred continued to make use of the veteran’s identification and steal his government-issued advantages, in keeping with prosecutors, who didn’t specify the greenback quantity of advantages he obtained.
He additionally obtained identification paperwork and bank cards issued within the veteran’s title in New York and Florida whereas the veteran was coping with the decades-long fallout from identification theft, prosecutors mentioned.
“The sufferer has suffered psychological and monetary injury because of the crimes, together with briefly dropping his authorities advantages and being unable to acquire credit score in his title,” prosecutors mentioned.
By 2019, Alfred was residing in Tampa, the place he utilized for a U.S. passport within the man’s title, in keeping with prosecutors.
Now, Alfred has been sentenced to seven years in federal jail for passport fraud and identification theft, the legal professional’s workplace introduced in an Oct. 4 information launch.
Info concerning Alfred’s authorized illustration was not instantly out there on October 4.
“At the moment’s sentencing holds the defendant responsible for stealing the identification of a U.S. army veteran and receiving advantages to which he was not entitled,” mentioned Christopher Algieri, Particular Agent in Cost of the Division of Veterans Affairs Northeast Discipline Workplace of Inspector Normal. He mentioned in an announcement.
Alfred’s sentencing comes after he pleaded responsible on Could 19, in keeping with the assertion.
The veteran whose identification Alfred stole has by no means been publicly recognized by prosecutors.
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