Hudson Valley Woman Has Been Told She Was Dead 3 Times

“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” This Mark Twain quote, or misquote, is sadly true for one Hudson Valley woman.

“My date of death is June 26, 2014,” Patrica LaPorta of Wallkill told Hudson Valley Post.
“I found out for the first time in April of 2015. So I was almost dead for a year before I found out.”

While applying for a passport to change her last name LaPorta was told she couldn’t get a new passport because the Social Security Office reported her to be deceased.

“It’s an awful feeling. I felt different. I felt alone,” she said.

LaPorta was told it’s possible a mistake was made when her mother passed away in 2014.

She went to the Social Security office in Poughkeepsie and signed a statement that said she was alive. LaPorta left for her vacation and assumed everything was fixed. When she returned home her income taxes were rejected because she was again told she was deceased.

LaPorta went back to the Social Security Office and left with a letter that said she was incorrectly declared dead. Again she thought the situation was fixed. However, while filing her taxes this year, for the 3rd time, she was told she was deceased.

LaPorta says her social security has been flagged for identify theft, against herself! She lives in constant fear of getting pulled over and subsequently being arrested for identify threat. Which she says has happened to other people. She carries a large folder full of information to explain her situation if she ever does get pulled over.

“Trying to fix it is a nightmare,” she said. Less than 1 percent of the country is incorrectly declared dead. She says she has contacted local politicians, on a number of occasions, but has yet to receive a phone call back.

“I would love to get it cleared up, but I have no idea how. I don’t know what else to do at this point,” she says.