St. Joseph man charged in federal indictment

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) - A St. Joseph man was charged in a federal indictment this week with aggravated identity theft and misuse of a social security number.

Romero Perez-Bravo has been charged with using a stolen identity to obtain employment and state-issued identification cards since 2009.

Perez-Bravo had been fraudulently living and working under a Minnesota man's identity.

The victim reported the identity theft when he began to receive unpaid income tax bills from the IRS.

The Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General received the referral from the St. Joseph Police Department.

SSA-OIG had identified Perez-Bravo as the suspect, who had been living in St. Joseph and working for area employers under the identity for several years.

If convicted, Perez-Bravo faces a mandatory two-year prison sentence for identity theft and up to five years for misusing the social security number.

A press release sent to News-Press NOW from the United States Department of Justice stated, "The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence."

The case was investigated by SSA-OIG, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, SJPD and the Olivia, Minnesota Police Department.