Bulgarian who took name of dead boy to work for Oregon's liquor control commission will plead guilty to federal charges (The Oregonian)

Bulgarian who took name of dead boy to work for Oregon's liquor control commission will plead guilty to federal charges
Published: Monday, October 25, 2010, 2:57 PM
Bryan Denson, The Oregonian

The Bulgarian national accused of using a stolen name to take a job with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission will plead guilty next week to at least one federal crime, according to court records.

Doitchin Krastev is scheduled to change his plea before U.S. District Judge James A. Redden in Portland on Nov. 3.

Government prosecutors accuse Krastev of two felony crimes: making a false statement on a passport, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Krastev came to the United States as a student in the late 1990s and later attended college before vanishing. He eventually surfaced in Colorado using the name Daniel Kaiser.

Fourteen years ago, the computer-savvy Bulgarian began going as Jason Robert Evers, according to the government. The real Jason Evers was 3 years old in 1982, when he was kidnapped and murdered near his Ohio home.

Krastev solidified his new name by obtaining a birth certificate, Social Security number, Oregon driver's license, voter registration and passport in the name of Jason Robert Evers, according to public records and government accounts.

Using the name Evers, Krastev went to work eight years ago for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. He became a rising star as an inspector and investigator for the state agency that regulates alcohol sales.

His ruse was undone last spring, when the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service ran the identifications of dead Americans with a database of new passport applications. Agents soon arrested Krastev, who for a time refused to provide his real name out of what he described as "safety issues."

After his arrest, Krastev resigned from the liquor control commission.

Last summer, a federal granted Krastev's request to be married while he awaited trial in the Inverness Jail in Portland. But it appears Krastev hasn't yet filed the paperwork that would allow a member of the clergy to preside over the marriage inside the jail, according to Lt. Mary Lindstrand, a spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

Krastev's immigration status remains in question, too. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined comment on the case Monday. But the agency typically waits until after a foreigner pleads guilty to a crime before deciding whether to begin deportation proceedings.