



CUDAHY -- A child who died nearly 60 years ago, ends up casting a ballot in Cudahy! This is not a story of someone coming back from the dead, federal investigators say it's a case of stolen identity.





David Erchul faces ten felony charges in an indictment uncovered by FOX6. Investigators say he stole the identity of a deceased twelve-year-old boy.



"Beloved," and "Rest in Peace," those are the words seen written on gravestones of those we have lost. Death is never easy but especially tough when it comes so young.



In a local cemetery, lies a person with the initials "J.B." -- he was just 12 when he passed away in 1957. It was likely a surprise to those who loved him, but likely a bigger shock when officials recently discovered J.B. had cast a ballot inside a Cudahy polling booth.





According to federal officials, J.B. has been busy not just voting, but collecting tax payer funded benefits -- from food stamps to medicare and medicaid assistance. Documents show each month, J.B. has been collecting nearly $500 of supplemental security income.



This is not a story about a miracle. According to authorities, J.B. is still very much dead.






The accused crook is very much alive. 67-year-old David Erchul did not answer the door when FOX6 News stopped by his listed address.



"Normal neighbor. Never seemed like anything out of the ordinary," said a neighbor.



Neighbors are shocked to learn Erchul is accused of living a double life for decades. Federal authorities say in 1985, Erchul applied for an received a social security number and card for a boy who'd been dead 27 years.





"He voted in his name. Social security fraud. I had no idea. I know his son well but I have no idea," said a neighbor.



During the spring presidential primary, authorities say Erchul voted once in his own name and once using the name of the dead child with the initials J.B.



It's unclear how much may have been collected fraudulently over the last 31 years.



A crime possibly taking place for decades, now in the hands of a court to decide how this suspect's fate will be written in stone.





Erchul is accused of not just having a social security number, but a driver's license, commercial driver's license, Quest card and bank accounts in the deceased boy's name.



If convicted, Erchul faces more than 50 years in prison.