Imagine having your identity stolen -- and then someone uses your personal information to commit a crime. Sound bad enough? Then imagine you get sued for not protecting your own identity.
Those are the allegations in a lawsuit filed in Clark County. This case is taking some of the issues surrounding identity theft to a new level.
Your personal information stolen and used to commit a crime. You don't even live in the state where the crime occurred. One day in the mail arrives a legal summons -- saying you are being sued for that crime you didn't even know about.
It all started in December of 2005 -- when the driver of a rented jeep hit and killed 18-year-old Sonia Silva on Flamingo Road just outside of the Rio Hotel. At the wheel -- Philip Thomson of Las Vegas -- who used a fake Oregon driver's license for the rental.
According to this lawsuit -- that license contained the name of Neerav Shah, and the license number of another man, Joseph Parker. Now -- both Oregon men are being sued.
"Shah and Parker had a duty of care to keep their identifies from being used unlawfully and fraudulently and/or actively participating in the act of creating or allowing others to create the fake driver's license. Shah and Parker breached that duty when their information was used to rent the Jeep," said Parker, reading from the lawsuit.
Parker says he was stunned to find out he was named in a Nevada lawsuit. "And really I consider myself to be a victim in this as well -- not one of the culprits," he said.
He was being sued essentially for being the victim of a crime. ""Right -- which this person committed against me who rented the vehicle," he said.
"Somebody used my name and committed a crime," said Shah. Neerav Shah has credit card receipts for the dates in question -- showing he was at home in Oregon. And while the suit does not accuse him of being the driver -- he feels victimized.
"Yeah, it is frustrating. It is like you are powerless -- anyone can file a lawsuit against you without any merits or anything. It has taken time away from work for myself, it has caused mental stress, it caused a lot of stress for myself and my family," said Shah.
Las Vegas attorney Will Kemp represents the victim's family -- he declined the I-Team's request to appear on camera.
In a phone interview -- Kemp says the driver, Philip Thomson, told him during a jail deposition that one of the two Oregon men stole the other's identity and sent it to Thomson to use.
Both men say -- that's nonsense.
"Completely random. I mean the person could have opened the phone book and gotten my name out of it," said Shah.
"No, I don't have any idea how my licenses were stolen. Actually, I have never lost my licenses themselves so the information itself must have been stolen either from some database or maybe a company where I use my license photocopied it and that got stolen or anybody that ever took down my license number for any kind of rental that I have ever done," said Parker.
Both Parker and Shah have contacted their respective insurance companies to defend themselves from this legal action. And -- they are both placing some measure of confidence in the legal system.
"Well, I can't imagine a judge or a jury would actually reward somebody for this," said Shah.
As for Philip Thomson, he was charged with and pled guilty to driving under the influence with substantial bodily harm in the death of Sonia Silva. Last September, he was sentenced to between two and 15 years in state prison.
As for the civil lawsuit involving the alleged identity theft -- a jury trial is being requested but, so far, no trial date is set.
Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Mark Sayre.
Identity theft victim, Neerav Shah.
