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    • This Forum Is Dedicated To The Cultural, Spiritual, Economic, Academic, Political, And Social Empowerment Of African-Americans In The United States.

    Saturday, April 08, 2006

    Identity Theft Could Destroy More Than Your Credit Rating 

    It is hard to believe that in the 21st century the legal system in the state of Virginia is so antiquated that a person can be arrested, charged, and adjudicated for drug trafficking and drug possession by simply giving law enforcement a fake name, social security number, and not being required to produce valid identification. Any name and number will suffice. The name and number can belong to anyone such as a senator, a politician, or Indian Chief. This particular incident involves a criminal with obviously nothing to lose who was arrested in Richmond, VA and received felony drug charges under the name of a law-abiding citizen who possessed a Top Secret Clearance and worked for the Pentagon.
    In case number 3:04-CR-00125-DWD-1, the real Thaddeus Jones (TJ), gets [omitted] as a result of gross negligence on the part of Richmond, VA's law enforcement and judicial system. The system failed to confirm the true identity of a suspect that was arrested on felony drug charges and introduced him to the judicial system as Thaddeus Jones. This lack of due diligence caused the real TJ to lose a prominent position working for the Pentagon, including his Top Secret Clearance.
    This fraudulent infraction happened on or about June 24, 2004 and went unnoticed for over two years as the real TJ feverishly attempted to find work in his home town of Raleigh, North Carolina. His plans were to return to the immaculate home he built for him and his fiancé- his 40 acres and a mule. During his job search, he would often get job offers but they were later rescinded after the potential employers received the results from the background checks, unbeknownst to him. The potential employers would not provide TJ with any details as to why the offers were being rescinded, just that there was a change in scope for the position. After conceding that the denials were most likely racially motivated, he accepted a contracting job with a Defense Agency only to be released a week later. However, this time the Human Resources representative revealed the true reason as to why he was let go. After the initial shock wore off, his daunting journey to find a resolution began.
    Battling depression and an uphill battle, he has had to face the same incompetent judicial system that allowed this travesty to happen in the first place. The whole ordeal could have been avoided if Richmond's authorities would have applied due diligence when processing a suspect for felony drug charges. He has lost his livelihood and is now in jeopardy of losing his home and his fiancé because someone stole his identity. His financial resources have been depleted- leaving him without enough money to hire a lawyer to clear his name.
    To add to the frustration, after contacting Virginia's office of the Attorney General, TJ was told that there was nothing that they could do and that he would have to initiate the expungement process on his own with no support from their office. This is quite ironic, as the current Attorney General (AG), Bob McDonnell, recently ran and won his campaign for AG on the platform that he would initiate legislation to fight Identity Theft (http://www.statepulse.com/Virginia/2006/01.25.06.ag.pr.htm).
    It is very disturbing that a Black man fights his whole life against the odds of an imbalanced society to achieve the “American Dream” only to have it stripped from him by the same system that is historically responsible for the imbalance. The negligence and incompetence of Virginia’s legal system has induced a modern-day lynching.
    A man's life has not only been ruined by a criminal with nothing to lose, but has also been ruined by a law enforcement and judicial system that failed to initiate due diligence by not confirming a suspect's identity before charging them with a felony crime. There has to be some legislation in place to force law enforcement agencies to confirm the identity of suspects prior to officially charging them with a crime. This type of legislation will prevent something like this from happening to anyone else.
    With limited resources and no legal representation, TJ is now struggling to repair the damage that was caused. Unfortunately, his time is running out before he becomes homeless and penniless. I guess this is where the system wants him anyway.
    Let's shine some light on this injustice. Do your research on this particular case and identity theft, contact your congressional representative; contact your local media with this story (you are free to reproduce this story in its entirety); make a statement about this issue any way you can because the next victim could very well be you.
    The real Thaddeus Jones can be contacted at 919-649-3525 / trjones@myway.com
    Donations for TJ's legal fees and to sustain his livelihood until his name is cleared can be made to:
    Thaddeus Jones Legal Fund
    P.O. Box 40038
    Raleigh, NC 27629
    Or, contact the author of this article, Montez DeCarlo, mdecarlo@blackchameleonmemoirs.com
    Posted by: J / 6:47 PM
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