A man has been serving as a Melrose, Massachusetts, firefighter under the name of a dead man whose identity he stole, according to federal court documents.
The firefighter — who federal prosecutors are referring to as John Doe because they aren’t sure of his real identity — faces charges of aggravated identity theft and making false statements while applying for a passport, according to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Massachusetts’ federal district court. He was arraigned in court Thursday.
The firefighter had a Massachusetts driver’s license under the name of Henry Huang and used the name to apply for a U.S. passport in March 2023, which led to a Department of State investigation — a screener found that Huang had died in 2002, according to a criminal affidavit filed by a U.S. Diplomatic Security Service investigator.
In January, the City of Melrose congratulated Melrose firefighter Henry Huang for graduating from the state fire academy, and state Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian in February shared a picture of her and Melrose firefighter Henry Huang after he received a citation for his graduation. The man attended the academy from November to January, graduating Jan. 22, under the assumed identity, according to the criminal affidavit.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the Melrose Fire Department for comment.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Huang had an attorney who could comment to the allegations. He appeared in court Thursday.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated with more information.
