URL http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E0DC133FF930A25757C0A9619C8B63

DATE/ AUTHOR None	AUTHORS: Randal C. Archibold

H A 17-Year Nightmare of Identity Theft Finally Results in Criminal Charges

S1 For 17 years, David B. Dahlstrom, a locksmith in Salt Lake City, has not been entirely himself.
S2 That is because, the authorities here say, Yorck A. Rogge, a German immigrant in Los Angeles, has been him, too.

S3 The real Mr. Dahlstrom, 45, had lived a relatively uneventful life with his wife until Mr. Rogge entered the picture, prosecutors said.

S4 Mr. Rogge, 41, who was first arrested using Mr. Dahlstrom's name in 1990, has committed a string of crimes under it, the authorities said, and is in a state prison for violating parole after being charged with stealing a car and assaulting his girlfriend last year.
S5 Prosecutors in Los Angeles want to keep him there.

S6 The city attorney's office filed charges on Wednesday against Mr. Rogge, accusing him of 81 counts of identity theft and fraud.

S7 The case illustrates the tangled trail identity theft can leave, said Rocky Delgadillo, the city attorney, although he called this one ''extraordinary'' both for the duration of the fraud and the number of crimes traced to Mr. Rogge under his assumed name.

S8 As a result, Mr. Delgadillo said, Mr. Dahlstrom has had difficulty getting credit and at one point was detained by police officers serving an arrest warrant in his name.

S9 ''This certainly demonstrates the kind of nightmare identity theft victims can suffer,'' said Mr. Delgadillo, whose office last year established a special unit of four prosecutors to investigate identity theft, a problem federal authorities say has grown considerably in the past decade.

S10 Mr. Dahlstrom said the ordeal had left him feeling ''violated and confused.''

S11 ''Me and my wife have been stressed,'' he added, ''my credit has gone downhill.
S12 I cannot believe it happened to me.''

S13 Mr. Dahlstrom told the authorities that in 1985 he lost his wallet in Utah.
S14 The wallet contained his birth certificate, Social Security card and driver's license.
S15 Prosecutors said Mr. Rogge used Mr. Dahlstrom's identity in 1990, when he was arrested and convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in Los Angeles.

S16 From 1990 until last year, Mr. Rogge was convicted of a series of crimes using Mr. Dahlstrom's identity.
S17 Vandalism in 1994.
S18 Burglary in 1995.
S19 Leaving an accident scene in 2001.
S20 Making a bomb threat in 2004.

S21 For much of that time Mr. Rogge had a California driver's license in Mr. Dahlstrom's name.
S22 Prosecutors are trying to learn when it was first issued and how.

S23 Jerry Baik, a deputy city attorney, said defendants' records of previous arrests often lists aliases, but the police and prosecutors focusing on the crime of the moment rarely check the aliases against stolen identities.

S24 Mr. Dahlstrom, meanwhile, first became aware his identity had been stolen when he was denied a credit card in 1997 because of what a creditor called ''fraudulent activity.''
S25 In 1998, he received an insurance claim for an accident he was not involved in and another claim a few years after that.

S26 When he reported the trouble to the authorities in Utah they referred him to the police in Los Angeles, where the incidents occurred.
S27 The Los Angeles police, he said, cautioned him that unless he had the true name of a suspect little could be done.

S28 Problems mounted.

S29 Last year, the police in Utah told him there was a warrant for his arrest, and Mr. Dahlstrom called the Los Angeles city attorney's office pleading for help.

S30 Ultimately, there were some lucky breaks.

S31 Mr. Rogge's girlfriend, in a pique of anger, divulged his true name to a parole officer last year, who called Mr. Dahlstrom, who called the city attorney's office, starting a deeper investigation.
S32 Investigators determined the fingerprints of the two Mr. Dahlstroms did not match.

S33 From marriage license records, they established that Mr. Rogge was a German citizen, later confirmed by the German authorities, and investigators said it appeared he had entered the United States illegally.

S34 A check of criminal records showed the streak of crimes Mr. Rogge committed under Mr. Dahlstrom's name, the authorities said, while Mr. Dahlstrom has struggled to clear up the bad credit prosecutors say Mr. Rogge left him.
S35 Mr. Delgadillo said his office would issue documents to help Mr. Dahlstrom with creditors.

S36 Mr. Baik said that Mr. Rogge, who was arrested in prison, had not been assigned a lawyer, pending his arraignment next week.

S37 If convicted on all the counts, he could be given a sentence totaling 31 years, but the maximum penalty is rarely given.
S38 The city attorney's office, which prosecutes misdemeanors, is considering turning the case over to the district attorney's office, which could file felony charges leading to a stiffer sentence.

S39 There may be yet another twist in the case.

S40 Prosecutors are trying to determine whether the Mr. Rogge in custody is the same Yorck Rogge who, according to an article in The Los Angeles Times at the time, was honored by a San Fernando Valley civic group in 1987 for helping chase a purse snatcher.

