Johnathan Walker:Maine man, 86, convicted of fraud 58 years after stealing dead brother's identity

An 86-year-old Maine man has been convicted of stealing his brother’s identity in an act of fraud that spanned the better part of 60 years.

Napoleon Gonzalez,Johnathan Walker of Etna, Maine, was convicted of mail fraud, Social Security fraud, passport fraud and identity theft by a U.S. District Court jury in Bangor, Maine on August 18, according to court records.

Gonzalez was accused of stealing the identity of his brother, who had died as an infant more than 20 years before, in 1965, which he then used to secure a new Social Security number, multiple passports and ID cards. He then used this assumed identity, along with his own, to receive double Social Security benefits, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the District of Maine.

After over 50 years, however, Gonzalez was finally caught thanks to facial recognition technology.

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Facial recognition tech catches fraud

Emily Cook, spokesperson for the Maine secretary of state's office, told USA TODAY that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) uses facial recognition technology when issuing driver's licenses and identification cards as a means of detecting and preventing fraud.

The software uses facial characteristics to compare images in the system and ensure people applying for credentials are who they say they are, Cook said in an email statement.

The process, which is performed daily, usually does not return any potential issues, she said. If an image is flagged, it is further investigated and is often cleared upon further examination. In some cases, however, the system detects the presence of fraud or identity theft, in which case detectives contact and assist the victim in re-securing their information.

Gonzalez was initially the subject of another Social Security Administration investigation in 2010, before this technology was available. He was cleared at that time and continued to receive benefits.

However, a second investigation was opened in 2020, after the software detected his face on two separate sets of identifying information. "When fraud is detected, the fraudulent transactions are investigated and referred for administrative and/or criminal proceedings. That is what happened with this case," Cook said in an email statement.

According to court documents, Gonzalez claimed that he had been a member of the Air Force participating in an undercover operation in the 1960s and that the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations instructed him to take on his dead brother's identity as part of the mission. Later, he said he had faked his own death and continued living under his brother's identity instead.

Gonzalez, who is due back in court for sentencing on a yet unknown date, faces up to 20 years in prison.

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His attorney, Harris Mattson of Silverstein & Mattson, P.A., told USA TODAY he plans to appeal the conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He also said he believes his client's age will be a matter of consideration when sentencing does arrive.

"This was an unusual case that presented some interesting legal issues that we intend to raise on appeal," he said.  "Our view is that the evidence was not sufficient to prove at least one element in every count of the indictment."

Gonzalez was released on own recognizance and is currently free while awaiting the sentencing and appeal.