A Virginia Beach man says he can’t get a job because his identity was stolen in El Paso, Texas.
John Shelby was arrested on a trespassing charge in El Paso years ago, but the charge was dropped before it went to court. But because his name and mug shot were in the system, his information could easily be stolen.
Shelby said a man named Jason Newton used his name when Newton was arrested.
“He didn’t have anything but my name when he was arrested,” Shelby said.
When Shelby applied for a job a few years afterward, he was turned down. A background check run by the prospective employer showed that Shelby was in an El Paso jail. Shelby said he placed some calls and he believed the mistake was fixed. He even received a letter from El Paso law enforcement which stated he had no record on file.
Shelby tried to move on, and applied for several jobs, but each time he was turned away. He became frustrated, and eventually went back to the El Paso authorities. This time, they told him he’d have to hire a lawyer to clear his name.
“(They said) I needed to take responsibility for my own life and stop blaming them for my misfortune,” he said.
According to Shelby’s attorney, Stephen Casey, several people at the records department in El Paso are to blame, and neither of them can figure out how it happened. Shelby and Newton have different hair and eye colors, and their heights and weights don’t match up. The records department also didn’t verify that Newton was telling the truth when he claimed to be Shelby.
The issue remains unresolved. In the meantime, background checks for Shelby show all the arrests, and delivering pizzas is the only job he’s been able to secure.
Newton is serving a life sentence for the beating of a man, and Shelby has filed a lawsuit against the city of El Paso for identity theft.
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