Hawaii Couple Convicted of Conspiracy, Passport Fraud, and Identity Theft

A jury in Hawaii has found a couple guilty of conspiracy, passport fraud, and identity theft after they assumed the identities of deceased infants and lived under their names for decades. The verdict, delivered after approximately two hours of deliberation, came in U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Monday.

Presiding Judge referred to the couple during the trial by their adopted names, Bobby Fort and Julie Montague. The couple had maintained that their actions caused no harm.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Muehleck revealed that the real Bobby Fort died over 50 years ago, only living for three months due to a severe cough. Another witness, Tonda Montague Ferguson, testified that her infant sister, Julie Montague, died about three weeks after birth due to birth defects in 1968.

The couple, revealed by prosecutors to be Walter Glenn Primrose and Gwynn Darle Morrison, were said to have attended the same high school in Texas. A former classmate recalled they stayed with him briefly and planned to change their identities due to significant debts.

Remarkably, Primrose even joined the Coast Guard using his falsified identity, which made him appear 12 years younger.

When sentenced in March, the couple faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for passport fraud charges, up to five years for conspiracy, and mandatory two-year consecutive terms for aggravated identity theft.

The case attracted attention due to early suggestions of potential Russian spy connections, fueled by photos of the couple in what appeared to be KGB uniforms. However, their lawyers dismissed this as a one-time event for amusement, and prosecutors subsequently distanced themselves from any espionage implications.