Most sibling spats revolve around pilfered shirts or the final pizza slice, yet a 22‑year‑old from Palm Coast set his sights on something bigger: identity fraud.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Ryan walked into the local Tax Collector’s Office on Sept. 17 with a suspended license and a flawed scheme. He told the clerks he was his own brother, claimed he had lost his license, recited his brother’s Social Security number, and even smiled for the camera so the new ID would display his own face.
Unfortunately for Ryan, state fraud investigators were watching. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles Fraud Division examined the paperwork and quickly verified that the person in the photo was Michael, not his sibling.
Flagler County detectives obtained an arrest warrant on Oct. 8, prompting Sheriff Rick Staly to comment on the botched plan.
“This guy certainly won’t win the brother of the year award,” Sheriff Staly said. “This is just a series of stupid decisions by Ryan to skirt the law. First, he drives drunk. Big mistake. Then he tries to get around the suspension of his license by posing as his brother, thinking he wouldn’t get caught.”
Realizing the jig was up, Ryan turned himself in the next day at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked on a charge of obtaining a driver’s license by fraud, with bond set at $2,500,making upcoming family holiday dinners decidedly awkward.
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