News and Press Releases
Deer Creek man indicted for stealing another man’s identity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a 56-year-old Deer Creek man
was indicted for using the identity of another person when applying for a passport. Frank
Chester Brown was charged with one count of making false statements in a United States
passport application, five counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and five
counts of aggravated identity theft.
The indictment alleges that on June 29, 2004, Brown made the false statement in the
passport application by providing the name and Social Security number along with the date and
place of birth of someone else. In addition, the indictment alleges that Brown used a fraudulent
Social Security number to apply for a Home Depot credit card (on March 30, 2007, and on
March 10, 2009), a motorcycle financing loan from Eaglemark Savings Bank (on August 3,
2007), and a checking account with First National Bank of Henning (on January 3, 2009, and
on November 3, 2010). The aggravated identity theft counts apply to Brown’s use of the
fraudulent Social Security number on each of those dates.
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, Brown submitted an application
for a passport in Otter Tail County on June 29, 2004. In that application, he identified himself
as someone else. In support of his application, he presented an expired passport with the same
false name. Authorities became suspicious of his application after the victim of his crime authorities and was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”) on October 5, 2011, in
Alabama. He remains in custody.
If convicted, Brown faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison for passport
fraud, five years on each count of Social Security fraud, and a mandatory minimum penalty of
two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft. All sentences will be determined
by a federal district court judge.
This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security
Service, the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals
Service, the Henning Police Department, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, and the
Richland County, North Dakota, Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.
