OXFORD – Federal authorities said a man that used his dead brother’s social security number to obtain several credit cards and a United States passport has been captured in Romania and returned to Mississippi.
Thomas Lowell Ketchum, 53, of Saltillo, a fugitive who has been hiding out in Romania since he was investigated by the FBI in 2005, has been arrested and extradited to the United States to face charges stemming from an indictment that was returned against him by a grand jury in March of 2006.
Ketchum, who appeared before United States Magistrate Judge David A. Sanders in Oxford this week, faces charges of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to defraud of more than 15 unauthorized credit cards, and possession of a United States passport and social security number without lawful authority.
Ketchum was remanded to the temporary custody of the U.S. Marshals pending an arraignment and detention hearing on March 31.
Following a diligent search by U.S. authorities, and in coordination with the Romanian authorities and the U.S. State Department, Ketchum was arrested in Romania in September 2010.
He has been in Romanian custody since that time, fighting extradition.
Following the exhaustion of all appeals, Romanian officials agreed to extradition, and Deputy U.S. Marshals traveled to Romania last week to return Ketchum to the United States.
Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, stated:
“Those accused of criminal conduct should not fool themselves into thinking they can flee the United States to avoid prosecution. Nor should they believe that the passage of time will protect them from apprehension. The FBI’s role is not to determine guilt or innocence. Our role in fugitive matters is to bring the accused before the appropriate court and allow the judicial process to take its course.”
McMullen further said “for more than five years, special agents and task force agents of the FBI and deputy U.S. Marshals persevered in their efforts to locate and apprehend Ketchum.”
According to the indictment, besides using his brother’s social security number, without lawful authority, it is also alleged that Ketchum, a previously-convicted felon, was in possession of four firearms.
If convicted on all counts, Ketchum faces up to 35 years in prison, up to $750,000 in fines, and up to nine years’ supervised release.
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