Luis Alberto Villazon, ID Theft, Florida 2023

A Columbia County man has been charged with a string of federal crimes, including wire fraud, theft of government property, making false statements to a federal agency, fraudulent use of a Social Security number, and aggravated identity theft.

Luis Alberto Villazon, 63, of Fort White, was indicted by a grand jury in federal court for his alleged role in obtaining a driver's license and food stamps using the identity of a deceased person.

According to the indictment, Villazon applied for and obtained a Florida driver's license in 1998 using the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a person who was born in New York in July 1959, and died in New York in 1976.

Villazon was born in August 1959. He renewed the license several times, on one occasion presenting a New York birth certificate and a Social Security document under the false identity. During the same time-period, Villazon obtained and renewed a license in his real name. Both licenses were still valid at the end of 2022.

Beginning in 2011, Villazon applied for and obtained Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly called food stamps, under both the false identity and his true identity. The program required Villazon to submit renewal applications about every six months and each time he applied under the false identity, he provided the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of the person who died in 1976.

Villazon received benefits totaling $25,388 under the false identity through December 2022 and received benefits under his real name totaling $22,902 through November 2021.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

The indictment notifies Villazon that the United States intends to seek forfeiture of approximately $50,000, the estimated amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the offenses.

If convicted, Villazon faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud charges, 10 years for the theft of government property, 5 years for the false statements and fraudulent use of a Social Security number charges, and a mandatory 2-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charges, at least one of which must run consecutively to any other sentence.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/columbia-county-man-charged-fraud-theft-and-identity-theft-obtaining-driver-license