YAKIMA — A Yakima man who used a dead Texas man’s identity to collect welfare benefits pleaded guilty in federal court to theft and identity theft and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
The state Department of Social and Health Services said Guillermo Diaz Cardenas, 54, also was ordered to pay $50,000 to the state of Washington.
The department said he used a Texas birth certificate and the man’s Social Security card to collect financial, food and medical assistance from January 2007 to December 2011.
The case was investigated by state and federal agents. Cardenas pleaded guilty Feb. 6.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.