Man poses as his twin who died days after birth to steal $145,000 in benefits, feds say
A man’s application for a U.S. passport was flagged as “suspicious” in Florida — leading investigators to learn he was posing as his dead twin brother for years, court documents show.
By pretending to be his twin, who died days after his birth in 1958, Raul Gonzalez stole more than $145,000 in federal benefits over several years, according to his plea agreement.
When the Miami Passport agency reviewed a Puerto Rican birth certificate attached to Gonzalez’s application, bearing the name of his brother Miguel Angel Gonzalez, it stated he died due to dehydration, gastroenteritis and a premature birth, the plea agreement states.
As a result, prosecutors say the agency referred the application to the U.S. State Department.
Now Gonzalez, 63, of Seffner, a Tampa suburb, has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced in a Nov. 21 news release.
He was ordered to pay back tens of thousands of stolen Social Security, food stamps and Medicaid/Medicare benefits he illegally collected as part of his plea agreement, prosecutors say.
McClatchy News contacted Gonzalez’s attorney for comment on Nov. 22 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
On Jan. 31, 2019, Gonzalez submitted his passport application using his brother’s identity at the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library in Valrico after swearing under oath that all the information he stated was true, according to his plea agreement.
Investigators learned Gonzalez’s true identity after confirming his brother’s birth and death through a search of the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry, according to the plea agreement.
The records identified Gonzalez as Miguel Gonzalez’s twin, prosecutors say.
An investigation revealed Gonzalez also used his twin’s identity to obtain a Florida driver’s license, according to the plea agreement. The license included a photo of himself but stated “Miguel Gonzalez.”
In 1992, Gonzalez applied for a Social Security card with his brother’s identity, prosecutors say.
Subsequently, he started collecting Social Security benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits using his twin’s name, according to the plea agreement.
Gonzalez is to pay back more than $60,000 to the Social Security Administration, over $16,000 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the stolen SNAP benefits and more than $75,000 worth of Medicare/Medicaid benefits, the plea agreement states.
He is facing a two-year mandatory prison sentence in connection with pleading guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the release.
Seffner is about 15 miles east of downtown Tampa.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Man poses as his twin who died days after birth to steal $145,000 in benefits, feds say."
.jpg)