Man who lived under different name for decades outed by COVID-19 vaccine, authorities say

Federal authorities said a Tennessee man who lived under a different name for decades was outed after he received his COVID-19 vaccine, The Charlotte Observer reported. 

According to court documents obtained by the newspaper, authorities said Jerry Leon Blankenship of Newport, Tenn. used the identity of another person to avoid military service after leaving the U.S. Navy in the early 1980s. 

A woman who was in a brief romantic relationship with Blankenship suggested that he use the identity of the father of her child to avoid trouble from the military, sharing important information such as the father’s social security number. 

Authorities said Blankenship later started dating the “estranged” daughter of his first wife, from a different relationship, and the couple ultimately settled in Newport where they raised three children and started a home repair business together, according to court documents. 

Law enforcement officials became aware of Blakenship’s offenses after a man reported identity theft in North Carolina, saying he has been plagued “with identity theft issues” for the last two decades.

The man noted a recent incident had taken place in March 2021 when Walgreens notified him about a COVID-19 vaccine shot he never received, which led to authorities obtaining a video of Blankenship receiving the vaccine under the man’s name, court documents said. 

Blankenship, who pleaded guilty to one count of false use of a social security number and one count of aggravated identity theft, on Monday was sentenced to serve 25 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to The Observer. 

In a letter, Blankenship’s daughter called her father an “incredible, faithful, caring and honest man” and “an outstanding citizen” 

“Although it came as a surprise to us all when we found out he had been taken into custody and why, it doesn’t change who he is as a person,” Blankenship’s daughter wrote in the letter. 

Blankenship, 65, could also face a military tribunal for his desertion from the Navy, court documents noted.