Frank Morris, Identity Theft and Fraud, Ohio 2021

CINCINNATI – Frank Morris, 73, of Cincinnati, has admitted to a brazen, decades-long scheme to steal the identity of a childhood friend, even after the man died. Morris pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to theft of public money and false representation of a Social Security number, crimes that could land him behind bars for up to 15 years.

The scheme stretched back to 1966, when Morris began assuming the identity of the deceased individual. Court documents reveal that Morris didn’t just collect benefits – he actively lived under this false identity, racking up arrests under the victim’s name over a 50-year period. This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment; it was a sustained, calculated effort to defraud the system.

The financial toll of Morris’s deception is significant. Beginning in 2004, he started collecting Supplemental Security Income disability payments under the stolen identity. For 16 years, until 2020, Morris siphoned off more than $123,000 in disability benefits he wasn’t entitled to. The greed didn’t stop there. In 2018, he applied for and received approximately $1,600 in SNAP food stamp benefits, further exploiting the system.

Federal investigators uncovered the elaborate fraud through a cooperative effort involving the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, the United States Secret Service, the USDA Office of Inspector General, and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. These agencies worked together to untangle the web of deceit Morris had carefully constructed over half a century.

Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Vipal J. Patel, announced the guilty plea entered before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is prosecuting the case, seeking justice for the victim and holding Morris accountable for his long-running crime. Morris faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the theft of public money and up to five years for falsely representing a Social Security number.

The case serves as a stark reminder that identity theft is not merely a financial crime, but a profound violation of an individual’s life, even in death. Morris not only stole benefits but also tarnished the reputation of the deceased man, leaving a trail of false records and legal entanglements in his wake. Sentencing is pending.

Source: https://www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2021/08/cincinnati-man-pleads-guilty-using-identity-deceased-friend-obtain-social