Cambridge man charged with using another man's identity for 20 years to get government benefits

A Cambridge man was arraigned Friday on a wallet full of identity-theft charges related to the $66,000 worth of state benefits he allegedly reaped over the past 20 years by using an out-of-state resident's birth certificate and Social Security number.

Frederick Cross, 68, was turned down under his own name for state assistance in 1990 because he was wanted for a variety of offenses, including larceny and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports. Rather than clear up the charges, the DA's office says:

Cross successfully applied for a replacement Social Security card in his victim's name in 1994, a Massachusetts driver's license in his victim’s name in 1996, and a Massachusetts ID card in his victim's name in 2008. Altered birth certificates supporting these applications were recovered from Cross' apartment and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.

With a new identity, Cross then successfully applied for assistance from MassHealth, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Emergency Aid for the Elderly, Disabled and Children, the DA's office says.

The feds, however, were apparently better able to detect a problem: Cross was denied Social Security in 1994, 2009 and 2010. Cross, in fact, was arrested at a Waltham Social Security office this past Thursday - several months after he was initially supposed to show up for arraignment on a court summons related to the charges - the DA's office reports.

Cross was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury because while he lives in Cambridge, the agencies he allegedly defrauded are headquartered in Boston, the DA's office says, adding, that even with the arrest, his unnamed victim continues to have problems:

The victim, who resides in another state, has received bills for thousands of dollars incurred when Cross used his name to obtain loans, medical care, and other services in his name. To date, he has been successful in resolving those issues but must still take a variety of time-consuming steps to establish his identity to various businesses, agencies, and individuals.

Innocent, etc.