Texas officials have taken into custody an illegal immigrant who allegedly stole the identity of a teenage boy, causing him to lose his Medicaid benefits.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday that Antonio De Jesus Moreno Escobar used the boy’s identity to obtain seven different jobs in Houston over three years. The man was being held on an ICE detainer.
Related posts
Why It Matters
Benefit fraud by illegal immigrants has become a major concern for those seeking to curtail immigration in recent years, with the U.S. Department of Justice and state-level authorities looking for those who used fake or falsified documents to claim benefits or even access to the country in the first place.
What To Know
Paxton, a Republican, claimed Escobar paid $120 for falsified documents, including a stolen Social Security number, a fake green card, and a Texas state ID. With those documents, he allegedly used the 13-year-old’s identity to get work in the Houston area for three years.
The victim, a Hutto, Texas resident, then lost his Medicaid coverage. His mother received a phone call informing her that the benefits were being terminated due to income being fraudulently claimed in her son’s name.
On October 7, 2025, Escobar was arrested in Williamson County, north of Austin, Texas, on a state felony charge of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, according to Newsweek records.
He is currently being held in the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown on a $100,000 bail.
The case comes as Texas maintains its strong statewide crackdown on illegal immigration, with Governor Greg Abbott and Paxton leading attempts to jail accused offenders and transfer them to ICE for removal proceedings.
Escobar’s case is tied to the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), which has recovered over $1 billion in settlements, judgments, and reparations for Texas taxpayers since 2020.
What’s Next
A pre-indictment docket call was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, and ICE has yet to reveal more information about the suspect’s immigration status and identification.
