Pittsfield Man Arrested for Impersonating Army Veteran

A Pittsfield man was living right here in Berkshire County under a stolen identity, and according to federal prosecutors, he had been pulling it off for more than 30 years.

James D. Sommers was arrested Thursday at Soldier On, the veterans transitional housing facility on Merrill Road in Pittsfield, where he had been living under the name of a real U.S. Army veteran. He is now charged with one count of false statements and remains in federal custody. -justice.gov

Prosecutors say the scheme dates back to at least 1994. Sommers allegedly assumed the identity of a veteran who served honorably from 1979 to 1982, using that stolen name to collect thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits and nearly $30,000 in medical care and medications from VA medical centers. As recently as February 20th of this year, he allegedly used the fake identity to get care at the VA Medical Center in Northampton, just down the road from here.

According to WNYT, the real veteran is alive, has been living in Florida, and has even been in the Pittsfield area recently. That means the two men may have been in the same community at the same time, with one of them living under the other's name. -wnyt.com

Prosecutors say Sommers also racked up multiple criminal convictions in New York under the victim's name in 1994, 1997, 2001, and 2011, for charges ranging from drug sales to grand larceny to forgery. All of it attached to a man who never committed those crimes and served his country honorably.

If convicted, Sommers faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.