Man Arrested for Posing as His Dead Mother

A 49-year old New York man was arrested for using a walking stick, lots of make-up, and a fake ID to impersonate his dead mother.  When his mother died in 2003, he gave the funeral director a false social security number so that he could collect $700 a month in social security benefits and $39,000 in rent subsidies in her name.  He is now facing theft, forgery, and conspiracy charges.   

A BBC article quotes the man as saying, “I held my mother when she was dying and breathed in her last breath, so I am my mother,” upon arrest.

BBC, US man ‘posed as his dead mother’, June 17, 2009.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.