Maine Man Found Guilty of Using His Dead Infant Brother’s Identity For Over Half a Century

An elderly man from Maine is in some legal hot water after a jury found him guilty on several charges following a two-day trial in Maine.

According to WGME 13, the man has been using two identities, his and his deceased brother's, for more than 50 years. It's being reported that Napoleon Gonzalez, 86 of Etna, Maine, has been found guilty on several charges including identity theft, two counts of passport fraud, two counts of Social Security fraud and one count of mail fraud.

The guilty verdicts, which could bring a maximum of 50 years in jail and a $250,000 fine, are the result of a year's long investigation into Gonzalez receiving multiple forms of the same benefit.

WGME reports that over the last five decades, Gonzalez has been doubling as his deceased infant brother, Guillermo Gonzalez. Napoleon has acquired a passport, social security card and other identity-specific items using his brother's name.

When pressed on why he would have done such a thing, Gonzalez told the court that he had been advised to do so from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Gonzalez told the court that the Air Force office advised him it was 'legal to do so'.

Napoleon Gonzalez had been, up until 2020, receiving both social security and retirement benefits in both his, and his brother's, names. It was in March of 2020 when it was requested by investigators to suspend all benefits being paid to Guillermo Gonzalez.

Napoleon Gonzalez, who will face sentencing at a later date, faces up to 20 years on the mail fraud charge, up to 15 years on the identity theft charge, up to 10 years on the passport charge and up to 5 years on the Social Security charge. Combined, that's a possibility of 50 years in federal prison.

We will keep this story updated as we await the sentencing hearing.