A Pakistani deli worker in Staten Island is accused of trying to buy the identity of a dead child from the boy's mother. Rizwan Ahmed, 24, allegedly promised to pay $10,000 to obtain a birth certificate and social security card that belonged to Michael Keller, an 8-year-old who died of respiratory arrest in 1996. But he was busted when he tried to get a state ID under the new name.
Ahmed reportedly tried to get an ID from the DMV using the deceased child's paperwork last June. But the department—which was accused yesterday of issuing over $1 million in fake IDs—turned him down and tipped off the NYPD. Ahmed has been charged with two counts of second-degree forgery and offering a false instrument, and a count of false statements and alteration of records, according to the Post—which emphasizes the fact that federal authorities are investigating if he has any ties to terrorism. Legal documents quoted in the Staten Island Advance reveal that Ahmed wanted "to get documents because I knew I couldn't get an American ID."
The dead child's mother, Hazel Benson, faces second-degree charges for forgery, offering a false instrument, and alteration of records. She claims the deal never went through and that allegations she was compensated are "an absolute lie ... because I didn't receive a dime." Benson reportedly offered to sell her son's identity due to "stupidity and desperation," noting she was "desperate for funds, which I never received ... I wasn't really thinking straight. I had a handicapped mother, and I really, really wanted to care for her." She described Ahmed as "just a nice young man" who "said he wanted to go to school."
