A Mexican national living a stolen U.S. life for more than 30 years has been ordered to repay more than $360,000 in benefits and sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors charged that Andres Avelino Anduaga, 66, of Tijuana, obtained a birth certificate of a U.S. citizen in 1980 and then used it to secure a social security number and California driver's license, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Authorities said Anduaga fraudulently received federal, state, and local benefits from agencies, including nearly $250,000 in social security benefits and more than $100,000 in health benefits from MediCal.
The Southern California's U.S. Attorney's Office said Anduaga was ordered to repay $360,908.85 in restitution to the Social Security Administration, the California Department of Health Care Services and the County of San Diego.
Anduaga admitted that he was deported from the U.S. in 1994 and 2000 under the name Jose Reyes, but by using the stolen U.S. identity Anduaga was still able to cross the border back into the U.S. freely with a passport he obtained with it.
U.S. District Judge John A. Houston sentenced Anduaga on a theft of property charge and being a Removed Alien Found in the United States.
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