Story Published:
Nov 12, 2008 at 7:48 PM MST
Story Updated:
Nov 13, 2008 at 10:33 PM MST
BILLINGS - National figures show identity theft is the biggest white-collar crime facing the U.S. The trend turned out to be a real life nightmare for a man in Billings.
Meet the fake Scott Strzempek. He's accused of stealing someone else's military credentials and even work history to rise to the ranks of food director at the Montana Rescue Mission. He was so convincing, even KULR-8 news interviewed him on Thanksgiving of 2007. At that time, he told us, "It takes a lot of work to put on a meal of this proportion." We interviewed him again that Christmas! "A lot of people don't have family to share the holidays with."
But the jig was up when the real Scott Strzempek who lived in Mexico returned to the U.S. to an unwelcome surprise. He recalls the day last summer, "When I got back to the states, I was getting letters that had bounced around the country from the IRS about failing to report income at the Montana Rescue Mission." He'd only driven through Billings in the past, never long enough to actually get a job here. He was puzzled.
Another discovery: he was in trouble for failing to appear in court for a traffic violation in Billings. "So, I called motor vehicles and they said, 'It's your birthday, your driver's license number, yep, it was you.' And I tried to explain to them I was thousands of miles away at the time in the middle of Mexico. So whoever it was, it wasn't me."
It was such a mess, he actually came to Billings to sort out all the ways the imposter had used his identity. But people were so helpful, and his experience tracking his imposter's trail turned out to be so surprisingly positive, he actually decided to move to Billings. Strzempek admits, "It's just a really twisted path that got me here."
Perhaps the biggest twist: since the suspect was on the run, the Rescue Mission needed a food director. "I worked with the guys for a few days and they asked me if I wanted the job and I said of course."
And so, meet the new food director of the Montana Rescue Mission. Same name, different guy - but someone convinced he's here for a higher purpose. "It's an opportunity to do what you do well and helping others and helping a community. It was just a wild road getting here."
Coming up Thursday, we'll track down the imposter and explain how he was able to get his victim's personal information.
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