Brit Pleads To Making False Citizenship Claim
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A British man accused of stealing the identity of a deceased aide to a U.S. senator has pleaded guilty to making a false claim of American citizenship.
A guilty plea to aggravated identity theft would have meant a two-year sentence for John Skelton, but federal prosecutors allowed him to admit to the lesser crime last month. A judge sentenced Skelton to time served and ordered him to return immediately to his home country.
Authorities say Skelton stole the identity of U.S. citizen Kurt Branham, who worked as a legislative aide for Sen. Mitch McConnell and died in 1994.
Skelton was arrested in July at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. His attorney says Skelton needed medical care for HIV he could only get in America.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
