Illegal Alien Steals U.S. Victim’s Name, Gets Huge Taxpayer Benefits, Serves One Night in Jail

Ramon Perez-Rivera, 82, did something remarkable when he arrived in California — he officially transferred an American’s name to himself so he could steal his victim’s complete identity.

Many years later, when justice finally caught up with Perez-Rivera — an illegal migrant — it kept him in jail for only one night. And then the criminal complained the punishment was unfair.

“This is clearly a remarkable case. I have never had a case quite like this,” said Judge Eric Melgren.

Years ago, prosecutors said, “he persuaded a [judge in a] California court to change the name of his identity theft victim. Armed with that court order, he also changed the victim’s California birth record to his own name. He then used that [stolen] identity to obtain food stamps, Medicaid, a U.S. passport and a driver’s license,” according to AP.

But the judge sentenced Perez-Rivera, who had been fraudulently collecting taxpayer benefits for years with a stolen identity, to time served. That amounted to one night in jail.

“I thought I was legal. I thought I was under the [first] judge’s protection,” Perez-Rivera complained.

His attorney said his supposedly uneducated client got “very bad advice” from a notary who has also been convicted of identity theft.

The extreme leniency of the sentence was granted partly because of Perez-Rivera’s age.

Identity theft plagues Americans, in part, because of uncontrolled migration.

Cases like Perez-Rivera’s demonstrate one of the growing dangers on unchecked illegal migration. Illegal aliens have strong incentives to commit multiple felonies in order to obtain identity papers that allow them to hide their illegal status and to get taxpayer-funded benefits.

It is unknown how many of the official drivers’ licenses that have been recently distributed in California to illegal immigrants were given to identity thieves like Perez-Rivera.

As Breitbart News exclusively reported, state DMV workers were ordered to overlook evidence of identity theft when issuing drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens. Given that at 75 percent of illegal aliens use fraudulent Social Security numbers to forge critical documents that allow them to work in the United States, it’s likely that the state DMV provided valid documents to many illegal migrants who are using stolen identities or fake names.

According to U.S. immigration law, Perez-Rivera is a prime candidate for deportation. Whether or not the U.S. government deports him remains to be seen.

Email Katie at kmchugh@breitbart.com.