A federal jury in Pocatello, Idaho convicted an unknown man after a three-day trial for stealing the identity of a boy who died in 1977 and using that identity to collect roughly $283,000 in government benefits over more than two decades.
The trial, presided over by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye, ran from May 18 to May 21 and ended with guilty verdicts on wire fraud, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and related charges. Prosecutors say the defendant used the identity of Carlos Ramon Obregon, a Los Angeles teen who died at age 14 in 1977, to obtain benefits and official documents. Obregon’s mother testified at trial that her son died in 1977, that the defendant is not her son, and that she does not know him.
Court records show the fraud began in 2000 when the defendant applied for a replacement Social Security card using Obregon’s Social Security number, birth date, and parents’ names. From 2004 through 2025 the defendant allegedly received about $177,000 in Supplemental Security Income benefits under Obregon’s identity. Between 2005 and 2025 the same identity was used to get roughly $91,000 in Medicaid benefits, bringing the alleged total to approximately $283,000.
Additional benefit claims stretch across multiple programs and years, according to the evidence. From 2009 to 2025 the defendant is accused of receiving about $12,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits under the false identity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendant allegedly collected $3,200 in Economic Impact Payments intended for eligible individuals.
The defendant also secured identity documents beyond Social Security records. In 2012 he applied for and obtained a U.S. passport using Obregon’s birth certificate and later traveled to Mexico on that passport. A passport renewal request in 2024 was not issued, but state-level identification records show the defendant obtained Idaho state ID cards in 2002, 2010, and 2014.
Officials say the fraud extended to a Star Card obtained in 2022, for which the defendant again submitted Obregon’s birth certificate to the Idaho Transportation Department as proof of identity and lawful presence in the United States. That pattern, prosecutors argue, helped the defendant repeatedly access federal and state benefits without detection for years. Despite convictions, the defendant’s true identity remains unknown.
U.S. Attorney Davis publicly praised the coordinated investigation, which involved multiple agencies across federal and state lines. Key participants named in the case include the Social Security Administration—Office of Inspector General, U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service, Health and Human Services—Office of Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Department of Agriculture—Office of Inspector General, and the Idaho Transportation Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Brittney Campbell are handling the prosecution.
The Department of Justice recently announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (‘Fraud Division’) to centralize efforts against large-scale and persistent fraud schemes. The department says that division will focus on investigating and prosecuting people who steal from federal benefit programs, and that work ties into a broader federal effort to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs. Officials noted the Fraud Division supports a government-wide task force aimed at eliminating fraud in federal benefit programs.
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