The Brief Vidal Blanco-Blas, 62, was convicted by a federal jury for stealing the identity of a deceased American infant to live in the U.S. for more than 40 years. Blanco-Blas used the false identity to obtain a Social Security card, driver's license, voter card, and passport, while compiling a record of federal drug convictions. State Department investigators discovered the fraud when Blanco-Blas applied for a passport renewal in 2023; he now faces up to 12 years in federal prison at his March 2027 sentencing.



A Mexican national living illegally in the United States was convicted by a federal jury for stealing the identity of a deceased American infant and using it for more than four decades to commit drug crimes and obtain government documents, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Decades-long identity fraud conviction

Vidal Blanco-Blas, 62, was found guilty Oct. 16 of making false statements in the application and use of a U.S. passport and aggravated identity theft. The verdict came after a three-day trial and about two hours of jury deliberation.

The backstory:

According to court evidence, Blanco-Blas entered the U.S. more than 40 years ago using the identity of Julio Cesar Torres, an American infant who died in Mexico at approximately three months old.

Blanco-Blas used the deceased infant's name to illegally obtain a Social Security number, a Texas driver’s license, a voter registration card, and a U.S. passport. He also compiled a significant U.S. criminal history under the stolen identity, including federal prison sentences of 84 months, 120 months, and 21 months for multiple felony drug offenses involving marijuana distribution.

Witnesses testified that Blanco-Blas maintained the lie in his personal life, instructing his own daughter to refer to him in public as her  uncle,  Julio Cesar Torres.

The scheme unraveled on April 11, 2023, when Blanco-Blas submitted an application in Greenville, Texas, to renew his U.S. passport. Using advanced investigative techniques, the U.S. Department of State uncovered the passport fraud and identified Blanco-Blas.

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