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Oldest American, World War II veteran becomes victim of identity theft

Richard Overton's bank account was emptied after his Social Security number was stolen.

July 4, 2018 at 12:58AM

Richard Overton, the oldest living American, discovered that his bank account had been drained after his identity was stolen. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

DALLAS – Someone is impersonating the oldest man in America.

Family members of Richard Overton, the 112-year-old World War II veteran who lives in Austin, Texas, learned that his personal bank account had been drained on Friday.

"Someone set up a bogus account, got his Social Security number and accessed his personal checking account," said Volma Overton, who is Overton's third cousin.

According to Volma Overton, whoever accessed the money used it to buy savings bonds with Treasury Direct, and has been doing so for a few months.

"This is going to be a setback for Richard," she said. "It was a significant amount of money."

Thankfully, the bank account was not connected to Overton's GoFundMe page, which finances his 24/7 in-home care. Since its inception in December 2016, the page has raised more than $320,000, though a large portion of that money has already been spent.

Once it's gone and the caregivers go, Volma Overton fears Richard Overton will, too.

She said he and a friend would sort out this money issue. He filed a police report on Friday.

The Austin Police Department is working with several agencies on the case, but had no further developments on Monday, a spokeswoman said.

As for Overton, he's still doing the things he loves, and recently celebrated his 112th birthday on May 11. He's the oldest man in America, verified by the Gerontology Research Group, and the oldest U.S. veteran

When the weather is nice, Overton sits on his front porch. His friends call it his "stage."

He'll hum with the birds, snoop on his neighbors and wave at honking cars. Best of all, it's where he smokes most of his 12 daily cigars, and sometimes drinks his favorite drink, a whiskey and Coke.