Unknown Man Sentenced to 61 Months for Identity Theft and Benefit Fraud
A man whose identity remains unknown was sentenced to 61 months in prison for using a deceased child's identity for 25 years to obtain nearly $284,000 in government benefits.
3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 25, 2026, 5:31 p.m. ET
Earlier reports
Aug 25, 2026, 11:22 p.m. ET
Unknown Man Sentenced to 61 Months for Identity Theft and Benefit Fraud
A man whose identity remains unknown was sentenced on August 25, 2026, to 61 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $283,977.40 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge David C. Nye in Pocatello, Idaho.
The man was convicted by a federal jury in May 2026 of wire fraud, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and related charges. Court records and trial evidence showed that the defendant assumed the identity of Carlos Ramon Obregon, a boy born in 1963 and killed in 1977 at age 14, and used that identity for 25 years to fraudulently obtain approximately $284,000 in government benefits, including $177,000 in Supplemental Security Income, $91,000 in Medicaid, $12,000 in SNAP benefits, and $3,200 in Economic Impact Payments.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Diplomatic Security Service, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The defendant's true identity remains unknown.
Aug 25, 2026, 5:31 p.m. ETFirst report
Unknown Man Sentenced to Five Years for Using Deceased Child's Identity for 25 Years
POCATELLO – A man whose identity remains unknown was sentenced to five years in federal prison on August 25, 2026, for stealing the identity of a deceased child for 25 years to obtain significant government benefits, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced in a press release. After a three-day trial in May 2026, a federal jury sitting in Pocatello found the man guilty of wire fraud, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, and related charges.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Carlos Ramon Obregon was born in 1963 in Los Angeles but was killed in 1977 at the age of 14 after suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a drive-by shooting. Twenty-three years after Obregon's death, in 2000, the defendant applied for a replacement social security card using Obregon's social security number, date of birth, and parents' names. At trial, Obregon's mother testified that Obregon died in 1977 and that the defendant is not her son.
The defendant misused Obregon's identity to fraudulently obtain multiple identification documents, including a U.S. passport in 2012 and Idaho state identification cards in 2002, 2010, and 2014. For more than two decades, the defendant used Obregon's name and identity to fraudulently obtain government benefits totaling approximately $284,000, including approximately $177,000 in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, $91,000 in Medicaid benefits, $12,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and $3,200 in Economic Impact Payments.
United States District Judge David C. Nye sentenced the unknown man to 61 months in prison and ordered three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Judge Nye also ordered the man to pay $283,977.40 in restitution. The defendant's true identity remains unknown.
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- Version 126 Aug 2026, 03:52current
First published.
- Version 125 Aug 2026, 21:31current
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- Version 126 Aug 2026, 03:22current
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