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Steals the identity of a child who died 20 years ago
The identity of a child who died in 1979, due to an accident in the state of Washington, was stolen by Ricardo Cesar Guedes, 49, in order to apply for his US visa in 1998 and acquire its renewal up to 6 times.
Guedes worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines. For more than two decades he posed as the deceased child. He did all of this to fulfill his dream of living in the US, only he did it fraudulently.
Guedes, was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and used the child's name when he married and in the same way, he obtained a mortgage loan in Houston, according to information from the federal complaint.
Ricardo's false identity was discovered when investigators compared his fingerprints, presented in 1990, on his Brazilian national identity document.
Guedes was captured in September last year at George Bush Intercontinental Airport when he entered a protected area for crew members and used the identification of the deceased. This caused the fraud indicators to mark his passport.
The US media revealed that Debra Lynn Hays, the mother of William Ericson Ladd, told State Department agents last July that her son had passed away, 20 years ago.
Some charges for which Guedes is accused are: false statements in a passport application and aggravated identity theft.
An airline representative reported that United has a comprehensive confirmation process for new hires, which is necessary to comply with federal legal protocols.
Guedes made 40 departures for United Airlines in 2020, as a flight attendant, using the Ladd name.
Approximately 5,000 cases of visa extortion are investigated annually by the Diplomatic Security Service, the legal requirements branch of the State Department, in charge of investigating.
Ricardo appeared before federal agents as William Ericson Ladd. Minutes later, the agents showed him the photo of the grave in Alabama and the death certificate of the minor.
Upon being captured, Guedes said that he had a fantasy, but that the fantasy is over, now he just has to face reality. The detainee remains awaiting trial.
