Cops: Freeport man steals son's identity

A Freeport man stole his son's identity, police said, and used it in ways that ended up costing the son his driver's license, car insurance and other losses totaling about $78,000 said police.

Ricky Lynch Sr., 47, of Freeport, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree identity theft, forgery and tampering with public records.

Lynch's son, Ricky Lynch, Jr., 27, of Coram, alerted authorities in February that his father might have used his Social Security number to obtain a driver's license for himself in the son's name.

The younger Lynch was initially unaware, police said, that the father had used the son's license and identity when he was issued a number of traffic summonses, police said. Those summonses led to the suspension of the son's license and cancellation of his insurance, police said.

After a lengthy investigation, Suffolk police said they determined that Lynch Sr., who has a history of past arrests on similar charges, and has used numerous aliases, may have been using his son's identity as long ago as 1995. Over the years, Lynch Sr. has obtained loans and cashed checks using his son's identity, police said.

Lynch Sr., who was arrested in Mineola, was to be held overnight at the Sixth Precinct in Selden for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court, Central Islip. Neither man could be reached.