Feds:ID thief collected Social Security

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - It took Robert Salazar eight tries to get his Social Security benefits. When he did, he collected more than $600 a month for seven years.

But he wasn't the real Robert Salazar, and the federal government was aware of it, according to a federal complaint.

The federal complaint against the man pretending to be Robert Salazar might as well be an indictment of the federal agency he's accused of bilking.

The real Salazar, who notified the Social Security Administration 12 years ago someone had stolen his ID, was in a Texas prison on a drug charge.

It was around that time the fake Salazar began trying to collect benefits. He allegedly had the real Salazar's birthdate and Social Security number.

The real Salazar also applied for benefits -- under the same name, date of birth and Social Security number. Court documents show that federal officials spoke with the real Salazar several times, and in 2005 had the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department compare the men's fingerprints.

Despite all that, the payments continued like clockwork to the alleged phony Salazar, reaching nearly $700 a month.

It wasn't until January this year -- 12 years after the real Salazar raised that first red flag -- that the feds opened an official investigation.

Those payments to the fake Salazar finally ended in November, but only after the real Salazar died in Louisiana.

In 2008, the alleged fake Salazar was convicted of assaulting a police officer and convicted in 2009 of fraud in Ottawa County -- under the name Roberto Salazar-Castillo.

24 Hour News 8 tried to track down the alleged fake Salazar at several homes in Holland, but were not able to reach him.

Officials at the Social Security Administration refused to comment. The office of US Rep. Dave Camp, who chairs a committee that oversees Social Security, would not comment on the specifics of this case.