It’s almost an unfortunate fact of life these days: leave something with your information lying around, and you’re sure to have your identity stolen. Heck, even if you don’t leave your stuff for someone to find, it’s still a likelihood! Now, in all honestly, even though this is an almost petty crime today, I find it kind of sickening. When you steal someone’s information just so you can go on an Amazon induced shopping spree, you’re not just stealing from them, you’re potentially hard-core ruining their credit and financial future. And I know that you’ll just say back to me, “well, yeah, they are thieves and all, what do you expect?!” But I mean, seriously? Don’t even thoughtless thieving jerks have a heart somewhere to not completely eff up someone’s future?

Like this woman, Anna Vargas. Her identity was stolen when she lost her birth certificate nearly 16 years ago and her information was apparently used in several immigration scams. Yep. No lie. This poor woman’s information was used for illegal men to “marry” her and become legal here in the states.

Mrs. Vargas is from New York who, when she tried to file for a marriage license, was quickly and unceremoniously rejected. The news had finally reached her that she has already been married. Twice in fact, in 1996, once to a man from Mexico and once to a man from Ecuador.

Then, out of the blue one day, one of her “husbands” turned up at her mother’s house seeking a divorce! Needless to say, this is a pretty ballsy move for a jerk who used her and all. Vargas immediately lawyered up and refused to sign and acknowledge the legality of her “marriage.” After a second visit to her mother’s house, Vargas’s mother showed the man a picture of her daughter and asked him point blank if this was the woman to whom he was married, and he answered no.

Vargas decided to go back and clear her name with the City Clerk’s Office. On Jan. 25, Administrative Law Judge Joan Salzman ruled that Vargas had indeed been the victim of fraud and nullified the two 1996 marriages. The fakery wasn’t tough to root out. The bogus 1996 marriage application said Vargas’ father was born in Venezuela; he is a native of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, her troubles aren’t over. Vargas also discovered another fake marriage in her name, on Long Island, and is fighting to erase it.

If we’re really trying hard to find a silver lining to this story, this could at least be a plot to some romantic-comedy. But truthfully, you’ve got to feel sorry for this woman. Not only has she had her identity stolen and used in several different cases, she’s trying to deal with being married for real! Now that’s got to be an interesting trust test in their honeymoon faze! It’s also a huge lesson to all the ladies out there: don’t leave anything with your name on it or you could be married to multiple south American men before you even meet the real guy you want to spend your life with!

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