FLUSHING (AP) ? Talk about having a double identity.
Brian Christopher Chapman, a 23-year-old who grew up in Genesee County's Flushing Township, was an A student, captain of the Flushing High School football team and a meticulous money saver. He was headed to Michigan State University to study accounting.
Brian Christopher Chapman also lives across the state in Berrien County.
While the two share the same name, were born in the same month and both had fathers named Michael, they're two different people who never met. Yet somehow, they shared the same Social Security number.
That created a long list of inexplicable complications for the former Chapman.
Like being denied a student loan.
And being turned down for a part-time job in college after a background check.
Then there was the application for a Marshall Field's credit card, which was rejected as calls from collection agencies lit up his cell phone.
A letter threatened to freeze his bank accounts for failing to report taxes for jobs he never worked. An official once showed up at his front door to repossess a car he didn't own.
Finally, a 14-page report arrived that claimed Chapman was in debt to the tune of thousands of dollars.
It took hiring an attorney in Chicago and a year of sleuthing to uncover the problem.
"No one could believe it. It's like he really had his identity," Chapman's mother, Nancy, told The Flint Journal for a story this week.
No phone listing could be found for the Berrien County Chapman, who is nine days younger. A message was left Thursday for a Michael Chapman there.
The Berrien County Chapman's stepmother, Lisa Chapman, said the family knew something was wrong when the Internal Revenue Service said he had not claimed money earned at a job in Flushing.
"Someone at (the Social Security Administration) didn't look closely enough to see they were born in different counties and their mothers' names were different," she said.
Nancy Chapman said each credit claim had to be disputed individually. Over time, it became nearly impossible to prove the two Brians were different people, as each man repeatedly overrode the other's identity, correcting erroneous information on forms.
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/291481668157185.bsp
Brian Christopher Chapman, a 23-year-old who grew up in Genesee County's Flushing Township, was an A student, captain of the Flushing High School football team and a meticulous money saver. He was headed to Michigan State University to study accounting.
Brian Christopher Chapman also lives across the state in Berrien County.
While the two share the same name, were born in the same month and both had fathers named Michael, they're two different people who never met. Yet somehow, they shared the same Social Security number.
That created a long list of inexplicable complications for the former Chapman.
Like being denied a student loan.
And being turned down for a part-time job in college after a background check.
Then there was the application for a Marshall Field's credit card, which was rejected as calls from collection agencies lit up his cell phone.
A letter threatened to freeze his bank accounts for failing to report taxes for jobs he never worked. An official once showed up at his front door to repossess a car he didn't own.
Finally, a 14-page report arrived that claimed Chapman was in debt to the tune of thousands of dollars.
It took hiring an attorney in Chicago and a year of sleuthing to uncover the problem.
"No one could believe it. It's like he really had his identity," Chapman's mother, Nancy, told The Flint Journal for a story this week.
No phone listing could be found for the Berrien County Chapman, who is nine days younger. A message was left Thursday for a Michael Chapman there.
The Berrien County Chapman's stepmother, Lisa Chapman, said the family knew something was wrong when the Internal Revenue Service said he had not claimed money earned at a job in Flushing.
"Someone at (the Social Security Administration) didn't look closely enough to see they were born in different counties and their mothers' names were different," she said.
Nancy Chapman said each credit claim had to be disputed individually. Over time, it became nearly impossible to prove the two Brians were different people, as each man repeatedly overrode the other's identity, correcting erroneous information on forms.
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/291481668157185.bsp
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