Former Placer County Resident Charged with Identity Theft and Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $110,000 in Social Security Benefits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A 12-count indictment was unsealed today following the arrest in Arizona of Richard Warren Ralston, 69, of Mesa, Arizona. He is charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and Social Security fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Ralston assumed the identity of a man who was born in 1948 and died in 1965. On Sept. 21, 2011, while living in Auburn, California, Ralston submitted an application for retirement benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA) using the deceased man's identity. For more than a decade, Ralston concealed his true identity and used the deceased man's name, birthdate, and Social Security Number to apply for and collect SSA retirement benefits. Ralston's identity theft and false statements to the SSA resulted in a loss of $114,285 to the SSA.

The SSA Office of Inspector General is conducting the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Moody is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Ralston faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.