A Deer Creek man was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Alabama Oct. 5 for allegedly using another person's identity to apply for a passport, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Chester Brown, 56, is accused of using another person's social security number when he applied for a passport in Otter Tail County in 2004.
According to a law enforcement affidavit, Brown used an expired passport with the same false name when applying for the renewed passport.
On May 3, 2010, the person Brown had pretended to be applied for a new passport, alerting authorities to the fraud.
Brown fled authorities and was arrested in Alabama, where he remains in custody. He was considered armed and dangerous.
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Brown is also accused of using a false social security number for a Home Depot credit card, a motorcycle financing loan and a checking account with First National Bank of Henning.
Brown faces one charge of making false statements in a United States passport application, five counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and five counts of aggravated theft. He could face 10 years in prison for passport fraud and five years for each social security fraud charge, as well as two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft charge.
The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office and Henning Police Department assisted the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshal Service, among other organizations, in the investigation.
