…2020. Your husband swore under oath that she was you.”
The investigator, Ms. Grant, laid out the documents. In 2020, my husband, Bill, had filed for a “replacement” state ID for me, claiming my old one had been lost. He brought a woman named Tina Rowe to the DMV and swore she was his wife. The new ID had my name, my birth date and her photo.
With that ID, Tina opened a bank account and redirected half of my pension. For six years, she’d been living as “me” on paper.
Tina was Bill’s girlfriend. They’d been together for eight years. The trips he took “with the guys” were vacations with her, paid for with my money.
Ms. Grant had the state cancel the fraudulent ID within a day. The pension office restored my full payments and opened an investigation to recover the money. Tina was arrested a week later. When police searched her apartment, they found my old birth certificate and a copy of my marriage license.
Bill was charged with perjury, identity fraud and theft. When I asked him why, he said, “I didn’t think you’d notice.” I’d noticed for six years. I’d just believed him when he blamed taxes.
I filed for divorce. The court ordered Bill to repay what he and Tina had taken, out of his share of our savings.
I’m seventy-one, and my pension finally arrives in full every month. I took myself on a cruise to Alaska. I sat on the deck with a cup of coffee and watched the glaciers. I didn’t need anyone to drink champagne with.
