N.J. man used dead brother's identity, prosecutor says

Facial recognition program tipped investigators to fraud, authorities say

HACKENSACK -- A Garfield man was arrested after facial recognition software alerted officials that he had a driver's license in the name of his dead brother, authorities said Friday.

Rafel Llano, 67, faces charges of identity theft and tampering with public records, according to Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal.

In an ongoing anti-fraud program, the state Motor Vehicle Commission scanned its database of approximately 19 million images to hunt duplicates, Grewal said in a statement.

That search revealed Llano's photo was tied to more than one driver's license, authorities said. Detectives found Llano had a license in the name of his deceased brother, Victor, as well as his own name. 

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"Mr. Llano had been utilizing the stolen identity since 1992 and had renewed the associated license numerous times," Grewal said. "It was also determined that Mr. Llano had registered and insured his motor vehicle utilizing his brother's identity."

Authorities said Llano was ordered held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $15,000 full bail.

It was not immediately clear why Llano allegedly used his brother's identity. 

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.