US v. George:
George came to the United States from Trinidad & Tobago on a short-term
visa and never left. Decades later, while trying to get a government-secured
home loan, he used the name, birthdate, and Social Security number of someone
else – someone who was already dead. He was charged with false use of a Social
Security number and aggravated ID theft and pleaded guilty to both charges.
However, he later moved to withdraw the ID theft plea, arguing that the ID
theft statute required the use of the ID of a living, not deceased, person. The
district court granted the motion and sentenced George to time served on the
other count.
The Government appealed and the Fourth Circuit
reversed. At issue, the court noted, was whether “person” as used in the statute
included persons who were dead. Recognizing that the term was not defined in
the act and dictionaries were “inconclusive,” the court retreated to the use of
the term in “common parlance” and concluded it included the deceased. That
holding, the court pointed out, was the one that every other Circuit to
confront the issue had come to. The legislative history also supported that
conclusion.
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