Boy killed in 1977 had his identity used for 25 years to collect $284,000

US Department of Justice. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Carlos Ramon Obregon was 14 when he was killed in Los Angeles in 1977, but his identity resurfaced more than two decades later in a fraud case spanning 25 years. According to the US Department of Justice, an unidentified man used Obregon’s personal details to obtain identification documents and government benefits worth about $284,000. The man was convicted by a federal jury in May 2026 and sentenced in August to 61 months in prison. His real identity, however, remains unknown.How was the dead boy’s identity used for 25 yearsCourt records and evidence presented at trial showed that the identity theft began in 2000, 23 years after Obregon’s death. The defendant applied for a replacement Social Security card using Obregon’s Social Security number, date of birth and the names of his parents, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.Obregon was born in Los Angeles in 1963. He was killed there in 1977 after suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a drive-by shooting, the Justice Department reported. He was buried at a local cemetery that same year.The case became particularly striking because the perso...