Man accused of using his brother’s identity to replace suspended license
News and image source: ADOT
An Arizona Department of Transportation detective’s efforts resulted in the arrest of a man accused of using his brother’s identity six years ago.
In July, Phoenix police arrested Raymond Hernandez stemming from outstanding warrants dating to 2019 alleging that he stole his brother’s identity to replace his suspended license.
When documents in the motor vehicle system were flagged for potential fraud in July 2019, ADOT’s Office of Inspector General opened an investigation. The detective compared the photos on the suspended credential, as well as a replacement credential under his brother’s name, and found both photos were of the suspect. Further investigation revealed that the suspect had three misdemeanor warrants for his arrest in addition to a suspended Arizona driver license.
After contacting the victim in August 2019, the detective confirmed that the victim did not give permission to use his Social Security number or birth certificate. As a result, criminal charges were filed against Raymond Hernandez for identity theft and forgery.
Raymond Hernandez failed to respond to subpoenas and was issued a felony warrant out of Maricopa County Superior Court and his fraudulent driver license was suspended.
In the early morning hours of July 17 of this year, Phoenix police officers noticed the warrants during a traffic stop. After verifying this with the ADOT detectives, they arrested Raymond Hernandez and booked him into the Maricopa County Jail for these outstanding charges plus additional charges of computer tampering.
“ADOT is very pleased to have a successful outcome to this investigation,” said Lt. Jason Henderson with ADOT’s Office of Inspector General. “We encourage anyone who suspects fraudulent activity against their driver license or ID card, vehicle registration or title to report it through the ADOT Fraud Hotline immediately.”
ADOT’s 24-hour Fraud Hotline is available to those who suspect fraud or criminal activity involving driver licenses, title and registration. Please call 877-712-2370, email [email protected] or file a report at azdot.gov/incident-report.
Detectives with ADOT’s Office of Inspector General, which is part of the Enforcement and Compliance Division, investigate fraud involving licensed and unlicensed vehicle dealerships, titles, odometers, driver licenses, VIN inspections, as well as VIN inspections. Additionally, they also support investigations by state, local and federal law enforcement agencies
