Bulgarian Who Stole ID in US Pleads Guilty

Doitchin Krastev used a stolen name while working as an investigator for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. File photo

A Bulgarian man, who stole the name of a slain boy in the United States, has pleaded guilty to passport fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The Oregonian reported that 36-year-old Doitchin Krastev faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in federal prison.

Krastev, who pleaded not guilty in the middle of October, was expected to change his plea to guilty on November 3 before U.S. District Judge James Redden in Portland in what local media has described as "a plea deal".

Under the plea agreement authorities in Hamilton County, Ohio, agreed to dismiss ID theft charges against Krastev for using Evers' name and date of birth.

Krastev's sentencing was set for January 18.

Federal investigators believe that in 1996 he stole the identity of Jason Evers, a three-year-old boy who was murdered in 1982, and used it to get a job with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Count one charges Krastev with knowingly making false statements on his passport application on Oct. 23, 2002, by using the name, social security number and date of birth of Jason Robert Evers.

Count two charges him with aggravated identity theft on March 10, 2008, for using the boy's social security number in an application for the job of regional manager with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

The man, who brought him to Bulgaria in 1992 - attorney Michael Horowitz, says he hoped that Krastev would use his time in the United States to prepare for a leadership role upon his return to Bulgaria. He explained that one day, but learned quickly that Krastev did not share that goal.

"He would say, 'I'm not Bulgarian. Stop it,'" Horowitz recalled.

Instead, Horowitz believes, Krastev came to love American life and didn't want to return to Bulgaria, where "the only way you got something was by taking it from someone else.

"He wanted a culture of freedom," Horowitz said. "He wanted a culture where trusting somebody didn't make you a sucker."

Last summer, a federal granted Krastev's request to be married while he awaited trial in the Inverness Jail in Portland.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!