WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an undocumented immigrant who uses a phony Social Security number to get work shouldn't be considered an identity thief unless prosecutors can prove he knew the number belonged to a real person.
The court ruled unanimously Monday in favor of Ignacio Carlos Flores-Figueroa, an undocumented worker from Mexico who was working at a steel plant in East Moline, Ill., when he tried to use someone else's Social Security number.
He was given an additional two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.
The government argued that prosecutors don't have to offer any proof that a defendant knew the identification belonged to someone else and wasn't simply made up.
The court, in an opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, rejected that argument.
______
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The court ruled unanimously Monday in favor of Ignacio Carlos Flores-Figueroa, an undocumented worker from Mexico who was working at a steel plant in East Moline, Ill., when he tried to use someone else's Social Security number.
He was given an additional two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.
The government argued that prosecutors don't have to offer any proof that a defendant knew the identification belonged to someone else and wasn't simply made up.
The court, in an opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, rejected that argument.
______
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
