An 87-year-old Maine man has been ordered to pay back more than $175,000 after he was convicted of identity theft and Social Security fraud.
According to federal authorities, Napoleon Gonzalez of Etna first took on the identity of his brother Guillermo in the 1960's. Guillermo had died as an infant in 1939.
They said Gonzalez sought a social security number for his deceased brother in 1981, and in 2001 filed for social security retirement benefits for Guillermo, after Gonzalez had filed for himself two years earlier.
Over time, Gonzalez acquired several passports and state ID cards under his brother's name, until the Bureau of Motor Vehicles uncovered the ruse in 2020 and alerted federal authorities.
Gonzalez collected retirement benefits for both identities until 2020.
In August, Gonzalez was found guilty of identity theft, social security fraud, passport fraud and mail fraud. This week he was ordered to pay $175,757 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and was sentenced to five months' probation — citing his age and health.
