The Abilene Reporter-News reported in Sunday's edition that another case of identity theft in Breckenridge is bringing even wider attention to an offense that only recently became a crime. Congress last year outlawed the assumption of another person's identity and attached a maximum punishment of 20 years confinement to the offense. The case involves Joseph Jerome Griesmer, who stands accused of stealing a New York man's identity 35 years ago. Griesmer, a Breckenridge bait-shop owner, is accused of using the alias to avoid detection of a dishonorable military discharge, to pile up debts and to file a fraudulent bankruptcy. He is scheduled to stand trial May 3 in a Lubbock federal courtroom.
Most people find it extremely damaging.
It's almost like defaming someone. Federal agents began investigating Griesmer after he submitted a bankruptcy petition last year using the New Yorker's name and Social Security number. In state trooper Sims' case, a man by the name of Robert Gary Simms was accused of stealing his identity by accessing the personal information of dozens of Robert Simses while working for Mastercard. Even after the offender's arrest, Sims spent weeks contacting creditors and credit information companies trying to erase the abuses. John Doe Public may never have gotten it straight.