A man has been arrested in San Antonio for allegedly living off a stolen identity. Fifty-four-year-old William Richard Holliday is accused of using the identity of a 65-year-old Guadalupe County man to open 66 fraudulent accounts, live in an apartment, and purchase a luxury vehicle. The case, which was initially taken up by county authorities, was later passed to the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) for further investigation, as reported by KENS 5.
During the hunt for the truth after being contacted by debt collectors, the older man humbly admitted that the purchases the collectors were calling about were not his own. A subsequent investigation by the SAPD then led to the apartment complex where Holliday falsely claimed residency under the victim's name, and upon further inspection, he was found driving a 2021 white Mercedes-Benz registered in the victim's name. According to a statement obtained by KSAT, Officer Nick Soliz of the SAPD remarked, "Now, we have a suspect living rent-free in the name of a victim."
Authorities became suspicious when Holliday, who was previously picked up on separate warrants during a traffic stop, had his bodycam footage reviewed. This revealed the vehicle's identity theft after checking the license plate. Further ties to his fraudulent activities came to light when detectives discovered the purchase of the Mercedes-Benz at a dealership, which was obtained with a driver's license bearing Holliday's photo but the victim's name.
Upon trail by SAPD, Holliday was apprehended using a credit card in the victim's name at a local grocery store on Friday. "Now, the suspect is driving a vehicle in the victim's name," Officer Soliz told KSAT. The arrest was made swiftly as Holliday exited the store.
Holliday now faces several charges including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, credit card abuse, and fraudulent use of identifying information. SAPD has highlighted the importance of ensuring one's mail is not being forwarded without knowledge in the wake of these events. The investigation into this case is ongoing and more information will be divulged as it unfolds.
