A federal indictment filed Friday accuses William Elvis Marshall, 51, of Greenbrier of using another man's identity to receive tax refunds, insurance payouts and various federal benefits for more than 20 years.
Marshall was arrested last month after his January application for Social Security disability benefits in the other man's name triggered a federal investigation. He applied at the Social Security office in Conway.
The investigation revealed that Marshall had been living for at least 20 years under the name Terry Calvin Jones, after stealing the San Diego-area man's identity, according to an affidavit written by Special Agent Charles Briscoe, who conducted the investigation.
The indictment, handed up by a federal grand jury, levels eight charges against Marshall.
It alleges that in 2011, he falsely obtained a "replacement" Social Security number card for Jones through the Social Security office in Sherwood and then used Jones' name, date of birth and Social Security number without lawful authority.
The indictment further accuses Marshall of using the other man's Social Security number to conceal his identity from law enforcement and file a 2011 state tax return in February 2012.
Marshall is also charged with using the Social Security number in 2014 to file a 2013 state tax return in Jones' name and with using the number to fraudulently apply for Social Security disability benefits in Jones' name on Jan. 15.
Briscoe, with the Social Security Office of the Inspector General, said in the affidavit that over the years, Marshall used Jones' identity to obtain false government identification cards, get jobs, file for bankruptcy, collect income tax refunds and insurance claims, obtain medical treatment and seek government benefits. Marshall even was charged and convicted of crimes, and served prison time, under the other man's name.
At the time of Marshall's arrest, it was unknown if the man whose name Marshall had been using for years was aware that anyone had stolen his identity.
The agent said Marshall was arrested in Arkansas in 1986 on charges of theft of property and second-degree forgery and fled to California. The next year, he was arrested in San Diego and extradited to Arkansas, where he was convicted and sentenced, under his real name, to five years in prison with four years and 10 months suspended.
Then in 1989 and 1991, he was arrested in San Diego on narcotics violations. Although he used a false name at first, he was under his own name and sentenced to three years' probation, Briscoe said. The agent said records indicated that Marshall eventually began using Jones' name and identifiers in 1992.
Besides living in California and Arkansas, records indicate that Marshall moved to Florida in 2005 before returning to Arkansas between 2008 and 2011, still using Jones' name. Briscoe said Marshall also collected $42,000 in insurance benefits in Jones' name after a fire at his rented Jacksonville home.
Metro on 05/09/2015