A fugitive who was wanted in Wyoming on an attempted murder charge spent more than four decades living under the identity of a deceased former college classmate, according to the US Department of Justice. Stephen Craig Campbell, 76, assumed the identity of Walter Lee Coffman, who died in 1975 at age 22. Campbell first applied for a US passport in Coffman's name in 1984, submitting his own photograph and current address. Over the years he obtained government documents, bought property and fraudulently collected more than $138,000 in Social Security retirement benefits. The deception unravelled after a September 2019 driver's licence renewal, and FBI agents arrested him in New Mexico in February 2025. He was sentenced to 81 months in federal prison.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
