A woman browsing Ancestry.com to find information for her family tree uncovered a case of identity theft that has led to an arrest in Lansdale, writes Katie Mettler for The Washington Post.

The woman was the aunt of Nathan Laskoski who had died before he was three months old. However, the site showed that Nathan was alive and had been residing in several states using a Social Security number issued in Texas over two decades ago.

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After informing Nathan’s mother, she immediately reported this to the Social Security Administration. After a lengthy investigation by the authorities, the man masquerading as Nathan Laskoski was arrested in Lansdale.

Originally named Jon Vincent, he had stolen the identity decades ago to escape a halfway house in Texas after being convicted for indecency with a child. Felicia Sarner, Vincent’s federal public defender, said that her client never meant to cause any pain to the Laskoski family.

“Mr. Vincent was a very young man when this matter first arose, and he deeply regrets the poor judgment he exercised back then and the distress this must have caused the decedent’s family,” she said.

Read more about the case at The Washington Post by clicking here.

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Top photo credit: chaz jackson Verejný Cintorín via photopin (license)