FORT SMITH -- An Oklahoma man was sentenced in federal court Thursday to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $278,000 in restitution for using someone else's identity to collect Social Security disability payments for 14 years.
Allen Frank Martin, 57, of Arkoma, Okla., had found a man's wallet containing identification documents in 1990 and used them to apply for disability payments. He also used the stolen identification to open a bank account in Van Buren, obtain multiple Arkansas driver's licenses, at least one California driver's license, a Social Security card and a birth registration card, a news release from the U.S. attorney's office said.
In March 2017, Martin pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft for using the stolen identification to open the Van Buren bank account. Western Arkansas Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III sentenced Martin to 24 months in prison on the charge.
Martin also pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds involving the disability payments, for which Holmes sentenced Martin to 60 months in prison.
Holmes sentenced Martin to another three months in prison after Martin pleaded guilty in January to failing to appear for sentencing on the theft charges.
Holmes ordered all three sentences to run consecutively.
According to court records, after finding the lost wallet, Martin applied for Social Security disability benefits in 2003 using the identity from the other person. On Thursday, Holmes ordered Martin to pay $277,767.40 in restitution.
During the time he was collecting the monthly disability payments, Martin also held jobs and failed to report those jobs to the Social Security Administration.
The aggravated identity theft charge stemmed from using the stolen identification to open an account at Arvest Bank in Van Buren in 2012, according to Martin's plea agreement with the government.
After his plea in March of 2017, Martin was freed on bail awaiting sentencing, which was scheduled for Aug. 29. On July 20, the federal probation office filed a petition to revoke his bail, reporting that Martin had applied for Social Security disability benefits May 2 at the Social Security office in Poteau, Okla. U.S. Magistrate Mark Ford issued an arrest warrant for Martin.
In the Social Security benefits application, the petition said, Martin made contradictory claims that he did not have any type of income, had never worked, became disabled in 2005 and did not work at all in the 15 years before he became unable to work. He listed his previous jobs before he became disabled as an apartment maintenance worker.
The probation office's petition said Martin's federal court presentence report indicated he had been employed remodeling motels and hotels, and was working on two motels in Sallisaw, Okla. He had submitted copies of his paychecks to prove his employment.
He also had removed the ankle monitor he was ordered to wear, according to court records.
He was arrested by federal marshals Nov. 13 and charged in a Dec. 5 indictment with failure to appear for sentencing.
NW News on 04/27/2018