FRESNO - Kenneth Laitman, aka John Rodman, 79, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to passport fraud, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in 1984, Laitman left his job as a stockbroker in New York and moved to California, where he assumed the identity of John Rodman and worked at an endoscopy practice. The actual John Rodman died in 1950 at the age of four.

Laitman subsequently obtained various forms of identification, worked different jobs, opened bank accounts, received government benefits, and took other actions while falsely using Rodman’s identity. This included a U.S. Passport that he obtained in 2004 and used to travel overseas on multiple occasions. He was convicted of attempting to renew that passport.

Laitman is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2024. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which consider several variables.