Man, 86, Assumed Identity of Brother Who Died in 1939

An 86-year-old Maine man accused of assuming his brother's identity decades ago and using it to double dip on Social Security benefits has been convicted of several charges, caught by facial recognition technology that matched the same face to two different identities, authorities say. Napoleon Gonzalez of Etna assumed the identity of his brother in 1965, a quarter century after Guillermo Gonzalez's 1939 death as an infant, and used the stolen identity to obtain Social Security benefits under both identities, multiple passports, and state identification cards, law enforcement officials said.

A US District Court jury in Bangor on Friday convicted him of mail fraud, Social Security fraud, passport fraud, and identity theft. Mail fraud carries the greatest potential prison sentence, up to 20 years. His attorney said Tuesday that he intends to appeal. The AP reports Gonzalez's benefits were previously investigated by the Social Security Administration in 2010 for potential fraud and his benefits were upheld. A new investigation was launched in 2020 after facial identification software indicated Gonzalez's face was on two state identification cards.

Per a DOJ press release, Gonzalez filed applications for Social Security retirement benefits in his own name in 1999 and in his brother's name in 2001. In March 2020, the benefits being paid to Guillermo Gonzalez were suspended pending investigation. Per the release, "Gonzalez mailed a letter to the Social Security Administration, signing the name Guillermo Gonzalez and the Social Security number assigned to that identity, asking for an explanation for the suspension. In the letter, he requested a prompt reply, claiming that due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, he was locked in his apartment, unable to drive and dependent on neighbors to obtain food and other items."

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When confronted, Gonzalez claimed that he took on his deceased brother's identity at the direction of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations while participating in an undercover operation in the 1960s, according to court documents. He later admitted to faking his death under his own identity and continuing with his brother's identity, the documents indicated. A sentencing date has not yet been set for Gonzalez, who remains free. (More stolen identity stories.)