112-year-old Richard Overton is the oldest living man in America and by default the oldest living veteran. In 2013 President Obama honored Overton’s WWII service during the Veterans Day Breakfast at the White House.
Unfortunately, no matter the age or amount of honor a person has earned over a lifetime, no one in America is ever immune from becoming a victim of crime.
Richard Overton is now also the oldest living victim of identity theft. A thief was able to obtain both his social security and bank account number and use the information to completely drain his account.
Over the course of a few months the thief purchased a number of savings bonds via Treasury Direct. Unfortunately, no one in Overton’s family noticed any of the suspicious debits.
The crime was only recently discovered by Overton’s cousin Volma Overton Jr. when he went to the bank to make a deposit and found the account balance to be zero.
Fortunately the stolen funds belonged to Overton’s personal account and not the GoFundMe account the family uses to pay for his daily care. The 112-year-old veteran requires costly 24/7 care at the tune of $15,000 per month. The family is able to afford the care via generous donations from the public.
The Austin Police Department were notified on Thursday of the crime and continue to investigate.
