Immigrant faces hearing in 'total identity theft'
WICHITA, KAN. -- The tug-of-war between two women who for more than a decade claimed the same identity will begin to wind down this week, when the alleged impostor is expected to plead guilty in a case that put a face on the problem of "total identity theft" in the United States.
Benita Cardona-Gonzalez faces a change-of-plea hearing Monday in federal court in Wichita to an amended charge of possessing fraudulent identification documents. Prosecutors have said her lawyer has told them and the court that Cardona-Gonzalez had accepted a plea offer.
The Mexican national is accused of completely assuming the persona of Candida L. Gutierrez, a Houston elementary school teacher who first went public with her plight in a story by The Associated Press. Gutierrez learned her identity had been hijacked when a mortgage application was rejected more than a decade ago. All the while, Cardona-Gonzalez claimed it was Gutierrez who had stolen her identity.
The case personified the problem of "total identity theft," a form of the crime in which con artists go beyond financial fraud to assume many other aspects of another person's life.
Gutierrez told the AP on Friday that she plans to come to the woman's sentencing later this year to recount for the court what impact identity theft has had on her life - it wasn't limited to opening fraudulent credit and bank accounts. Cardona-Gonzalez is accused of assuming Gutierrez's persona completely, using it to get a job, a driver's license, a mortgage and even medical care for the birth of two children.
Both women claimed they were identity theft victims and sought to get new Social Security numbers. The Social Security Administration turned down Gutierrez's request, instead issuing a new number to the impersonator. And, in an ironic twist, Gutierrez was forced to file her federal income tax forms using a special identification number usually reserved for illegal immigrants.
Each year, Gutierrez has to go to the Social Security Administration to prove her identity and clear her employment record. She spends hours on the phone with creditors and credit bureaus and has yet to clean up her credit history. She says her tax records are a mess.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/06/3997078/immigrant-faces-hearing-in-total.html#storylink=cpy
