Burnsville Man Charged with Buying Another Man's Social Security Number

A Burnsville man has been charged with forgery after police say he bought another man’s Social Security number for $80 and used it to get jobs, open bank accounts and rack up debts.

Javier Solis-Sanchez, 43, is charged with aggravated forgery, a felony which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a Savage man contacted police in March 2010 and reported that Solis-Sanchez had been using his Social Security number since 2002.

The victim told police that he was being contacted by creditors and collection agencies about debts that he didn’t incur. He said he didn’t know Solis-Sanchez, and he was concerned about his ability to take out student loans because of the fraudulent activity.

A subsequent investigation determined that Solis-Sanchez had opened four bank accounts at the TCF Bank branch in Apple Valley using the victim’s Social Security number.

Police searched Solis-Sanchez’s home in January and found several resident alien cards, Minnesota driver’s licenses, Mexican identification cards and Social Security cards with “numerous” Hispanic names on them.

The search also turned up a Social Security card with the victim’s number and Solis-Sanchez’s name on it.

Solis-Sanchez told police through an interpreter that he had worked at the same company for seven or eight years and had used the victim’s Social Security number during that time. He said he had been in the United States for about 15 years, and that he bought the Social Security number for $80 when he arrived in this country.

He admitted to police that he had used the Social Security number to open bank accounts and in an attempt to buy a house in Savage.