Man becomes Melrose, MA, firefighter using dead teen's identity

Charlie McKenna

masslive.com

(TNS)

A man identified by prosecutors only as John Doe used the stolen identity of a teenager who died in 2002 to get a job with the Melrose Fire Department, according to documents filed in federal court unsealed this week .

The man, whose real identity is unknown to prosecutors, used the name Henry Huang and Huang's social security number to apply for a passport in March 2023, providing a copy of a birth certificate with that name and a driving license with his photo and this name. , wrote Rachel Malcolm, special agent for the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. State Department, in an affidavit filed in federal court.

Investigators discovered that Henry Huang was born in 1989 and was assigned the same Social Security number that the man is accused of using to apply for a passport. But, according to investigators, Huang died in Boston in 2002.

Biographical information on Huang's death certificate, including information about his parents, matches information the man is accused of submitting on his passport application, according to the filing.

The man is accused of using an identity he knew was stolen to acquire government-issued documents in Huang's name, including driver's licenses issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles in 2018, 2019 and 2023, as well as copies of the adolescent's birth certificate and social security card. , we read in the file.

Using the stolen identity, officials say, the man applied for a job as a paramedic in Fall River. In the application he submitted to the city's Department of Emergency Medical Services, the man provided a driver's license in Huang's name and gave biographical details about Huang's life as his own. The man is accused of introducing himself as Huang when obtaining basic EMT certification in 2021 and then paramedic EMT certification in 2023.

He was then hired as a firefighter in Melrose in January 2024 under that name, according to the filing. At the time, the city posted an image of the man claiming to be Huang on Facebook, writing “The Melrose Fire Department has a new teammate: meet Firefighter Henry Huang!”

“Prior to joining Melrose Fire, Huang responded to emergencies, hazards and disasters alongside public safety partners as a paramedic,” the post states. “Congratulations, Firefighter, and thank you for choosing to protect the citizens of Melrose.”

In 2018, the RMV held a fraud hearing against the man because his face matched photos on two different licenses — the one issued to Henry Huang and another issued months earlier to Truong Nguyen. At the time of that hearing, the man is accused of claiming that Huang was his real identity and that Nguyen's identity was stolen.

As a result, the license issued to Huang was suspended for six months but reinstated in January 2019. The license issued to Nguyen remains suspended, according to the filing.

Investigators found a 2010 police report and a legal permanent resident in Nguyen's name that revealed he had a criminal history and had been convicted of attempting to commit a crime, uttering, theft and embezzlement.

In the filing, Malcolm wrote that she believed Nguyen was the man's real identity and that his legal permanent resident status had been revoked. Nguyen was deported in 1995 after being convicted of burglary in 1991. Nguyen was then arrested again in 2010 for embezzlement and theft of more than $250 in a single scheme after being accused of stealing more than $46,000 from the Norwell Firefighters Union while working as a union. officer.

The man was arrested Thursday and made his first appearance in a Boston federal court the same day, according to court records. The outcome of his indictment was not immediately clear.

Melrose Mayor Jen Grigoraitis said she was informed that the man, who she described as an employee of the Melrose Fire Department, was arrested Thursday.

“The employee was placed on leave as soon as the City was informed of her arrest,” she said in a statement.

The city does not comment on personnel matters, Grigoraitis said.

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.