Unidentified man sentenced to prison for using dead child’s identity for over 25 years
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POCATELLO — A man whose identity remains unknown was sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing the identity of a deceased child for 25 years to obtain significant government benefits.
After a three-day trial in May 2026, a federal jury in Pocatello found an unidentified man guilty of wire fraud, theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft and related charges.
United States District Judge David C. Nye sentenced the unknown man to 61 months in prison and ordered him to be placed on supervised release for 3 years following completion of his prison sentence, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
Nye also ordered the man to pay $283,977 in restitution.
According to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Idaho, Carlos Ramon Obregon was born in 1963 in Los Angeles and was killed in Los Angeles in 1977 at age 14 after suffering from a gunshot wound to the head during a drive-by shooting. Obregon was laid to rest at a local cemetery in Los Angeles that same year.
Twenty-three years after his death, in 2000, the unknown man applied for a replacement Social Security card using Obregon’s Social Security number, Obregon’s date of birth, and Obregon’s parents’ names.
At trial, Obregon’s mother testified that Obregon died in 1977. She testified that the unknown man is not her son and that she does not know him. His true identity remains unknown.
The man misused Obregon’s identity to fraudulently obtain multiple identification documents. In 2012, the man applied for and obtained a United States passport using Obregon’s birth certificate. He traveled multiple times to Mexico on his passport.
He also obtained Idaho state identification cards in 2002, 2010 and 2014. In 2022, he obtained a Star Card, again using Obregon’s birth certificate as proof of his identity and lawful presence in the United States.
In 2024, the man unsuccessfully sought to renew the passport. It is unclear how he was caught.
“Identity thieves who exploit the identities of deceased Americans cause real harm,” said Jonathan P. Kazmar, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service San Francisco Field Office said in the release. “In this case, the defendant assumed the identity of a deceased American teenager and used it for years to commit serious fraud. DSS will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of U.S. travel and identity documents and to seek justice for victims of identity theft.”
For more than two decades, the unknown man used Obregon’s name and identity to fraudulently obtain numerous government benefits totaling about $284,000.
He unlawfully received approximately $177,000 in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, $91,00 in Medicaid benefits, $12,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and $3,200 in Economic Impact Payments.
“This defendant repeatedly used a deceased individual’s identity to unlawfully obtain over $177,000 in SSI benefits for personal gain, diverting critical resources from people who genuinely need them to meet their basic needs,” said Christian Assaad, special agent in charge, said in the release. “We will continue to investigate those who attempt to defraud Social Security programs, and we will work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold them accountable.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Brittney Campbell prosecuted the case.