The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the punishment of illegal aliens who use false Social Security and alien registration numbers that belong to a real person. A 2004 law makes a two-year prison sentence mandatory for aggravated identity theft. Aggravated identity theft under the statute is defined as knowingly using the identifying information of another in connection with certain other offenses.
At issue is whether the random selection of an identifying number that in fact belongs to a real person qualifies as knowing use for purposes of the aggravated identity theft statute. The defendant in the case, Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican citizen, used a counterfeit Social Security card bearing his real name and a false Social Security number in order to obtain employment. Although it was unknown to Flores-Figueroa, the Social Security number belonged to a minor. The Court will decide whether the knowing use of false information is sufficient for a conviction or whether the accused must know the false information belongs to a real person.
