BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Morgan County man who faked his death pled guilty Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Rod Owens.
Jackson Matthew Hall, 28, of Lacey’s Spring, AL entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to charges of Social Security fraud and aggravated identity theft. The indictment was unsealed May 21.
“Mr. Hall thought he could get lost in Thailand and avoid federal prosecution,” Town said. “Instead – because of the hard work and dedication of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the United States Marshal Service, the State Department, and the Morgan Country Sheriff’s office – justice found him.”
According to Hall’s plea agreement, Hall was facing criminal charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy (a child under 12 years of age) in Cullman County, Alabama, and an aggravated child abuse charge in Madison County, Alabama. Hall had pending court dates in both counties in March 2016 and April 2016. Between December 2015 and February 2016, Hall used another person’s identifiers to obtain a Social Security card, Alabama driver’s license and U.S. passport. He then faked his death and used those documents to travel out of the country. In September 2017 Hall was apprehended in Koh Samui, Thailand by Thai authorities. In October 2017, the U.S. Marshals Service, along with a Madison County task force officer assigned to the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force traveled to Bangkok, Thailand and took custody of Hall and transported him back to the United States of America.
The maximum penalty for Social Security fraud is five years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000.
The penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, along with U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, State Department, and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.
