St. George man uses false info to apply to local youth treatment center, police say
PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC4) — A man was arrested in St. George on Wednesday for using false information to apply to a local youth treatment center, according to St. George Police.
Henry Chisom Okwori, 29, was arrested on one count of identity fraud — value less than $5,000 (third-degree felony).
On April 12, police learned that Okwori had applied for employment at the Liahona Academy, a “residential treatment center for troubled boys,” according to their website. A supervisor in the Human Resources department at the treatment center had reached out to law enforcement, stating that there was an issue with Okwori’s background check.
MORE: Former youth crisis center employee arrested for child abuse in St. George
On April 18, an investigator with the Dept. of Health and Human Services found Okwori’s employment records from Liahona Academy and two other youth facilities — Cinnamon Hills and Three Points Center. The investigator noted that the social security number listed on his applications for the two other facilities matched, but that the one listed for Liahona Academy was different.
On April 23, police found that the social security card Okwori had given to Liahona Academy “did not display some standard security features,” according a statement of probable cause, such as an “anti-copy pattern that should have been discernable because the card was photocopied.”
Police also noted that on the Utah driver’s license Okwori had given, Okwori’s middle name, “Chisom,” was spelled wrong — “Cshisom.”
Upon talking with the supervisor at Liahona Academy, police learned that Okwori’s background check was never able to be completed, as his information could not be verified. The supervisor told police that the information should have “returned fairly quickly,” the statement reads, as the supervisor knew Okwori had previously worked for another youth center, and that “most, if not all, of the local youth facilities used the same background check system.”
Upon running records checks, police found that Okwori did have a valid license in the state of Utah, though there was false information on the one Okwori presented to Liahona Academy. Additionally, they found that the social security number Okwori used actually belonged to a Texas resident who confirmed with police that he did not live in the state of Utah, and had not given anyone permission to use his social security number.
On April 24, police located Okwori at his St. George residence and took him into custody, where he was then booked into Washington County Jail on the charges previously stated.
Okwori was also arrested in St. George on April 18 for child abuse after an incident that allegedly occurred in March, according to arrest documents.
No further information is available at this time.
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