SAN ANTONIO – A 54-year-old man was arrested Friday after San Antonio police said he used another man’s forwarded mail to steal his identity and opened 66 fraudulent accounts.
William Richard Holliday used the victim’s identity to live in an apartment rent-free, bought a Mercedes-Benz, and used credit cards to buy groceries and other items, said Officer Nick Soliz, an SAPD spokesman.
The victim, 65, found out about the fraud after debt collectors contacted him about outstanding bills, Soliz said.
The Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office initially investigated the case but then reached out to SAPD when they realized the suspect may have lived in San Antonio.
During their investigation, SAPD detectives went to an apartment complex where Holliday lived and asked management where they could find him. Management told officers that Holliday didn’t live there, but someone with the victim’s name did, Soliz said.
“Now, we have a suspect living rent-free in the name of a victim,” Soliz said.
About a week ago, Holliday was picked up on outstanding warrants on a traffic stop, and that’s when police learned that Holliday was driving a 2021 Mercedes-Benz. When detectives ran the temporary license plates, the name listed as the owner of the vehicle was the victim, Soliz said.
“Now, the suspect is driving a vehicle in the victim’s name,” Soliz said.
When detectives went to the dealership where Holliday purchased the car, the purchasing paperwork showed a driver’s license with Holliday’s picture but with the victim’s name on it, Soliz said.
When police arrested him Friday, Holliday had just gone to a grocery store to buy groceries with a credit card listing the victim’s name, Soliz said.
Holliday was able to open the fraudulent accounts after his mail was somehow forwarded to the suspect’s previous address.
Soliz said that detectives urge the public to make sure that their mail is not forwarded without their knowledge.
Holliday faces several charges, including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, credit card abuse, fraud, and tampering with a government record.