Man wanted in Indiana stole a dead man's name to escape to Florida, police say

An Indiana man who walked out on his wife and children 23 years ago has been living in Florida under a name he stole from a dead man, police said.

The unusual story spans decades and states, involving a man who apparently ran from the law in Indiana to find himself locked up in jail in Florida — all while starting a new family, buying property and registering vehicles under the new name.

"It's absolutely incredible," said Detective Anthony Cardillo, lead investigator with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office in Florida, who broke open the case and busted the man last week.

In 1993, Richard J. Hoagland left his wife, four children and home in Fishers, Ind. He had apparently stolen from his employer, Cardillo said, and knew authorities were coming after him. His Fishers wife told investigators that Hoagland embezzled millions of dollars, Cardillo said.

Records show Hoagland was charged with theft in Marion County and a warrant was issued for his arrest in October 1993. It's unclear if the charge was connected to the story his wife told investigators.

After he ran from Indiana, Hoagland ended up in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he rented a room for a brief time, Cardillo said. He rented the room from the father of a commercial fisherman who drowned in 1991, Cardillo said.

Hoagland found a death certificate in the room, Cardillo said. Then, using the information he acquired while living there, Hoagland obtained the man's birth certificate, authorities say. He used the birth certificate to obtain an Alabama driver's license. In 1994, police say, Hoagland was granted a Florida license under the new name.

Since 1994, Hoagland, now 63, lived in Zephyrhills, Fla., using the new name: Terry Jude Symansky.

Under the assumed identity, police say, Hoagland got married, had a child, got credit cards and registered vehicles. He and his Florida wife obtained mortgages and purchased property in Pasco County. He even got a private pilot's license, police said.

The deception started to unravel about three years ago, Cardillo said, when the real Terry Symansky's nephew searched online genealogy records at ancestry.com.

The nephew found his uncle's death certificate online, and also saw a marriage certificate and a pilot's license that were granted after Terry Symansky's death. The family waited several years to tell police, Cardillo said, because initially they thought there might have been a mistake and later they were afraid that the fake Symansky might harm them.

Another law enforcement agency handed the case over to Cardillo, who specializes in financial crimes, on May 23. Last week, Cardillo said he was waiting outside the Zephyrhills home listed in Symansky's name when the suspect drove up and left his car.

"He told me his name was Terry Symansky. He showed me his driver's license and gave me the Social Security number for Terry Symansky," Cardillo said. "Then I showed him the death certificate."

Hoagland, Cardillo said, calmly admitted he had been living a lie.

"He told me that his wife in Indiana had wanted a divorce," Cardillo said. "He had already been divorced once and said he couldn't handle another one."

Tom Markle, a lawyer for Hoagland's Indiana wife, said the couple was legally divorced in December 1993.

Hoagland's Florida family had no clue about his real identity, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told the Tampa Bay Times and other media during a news conference last week.

"This is a selfish coward," Nocco told the Tampa Bay Times. "This is a person who has lived his life destroying others."

After learning about the deceit, his Florida wife searched an attic and found Hoagland's real identification along with a deed to a Louisiana property and a key to a storage unit, the Times reported.

Florida deputies arrested Hoagland on Wednesday on a felony charge of fraudulent use of personal identification, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office website. Bond was set at $25,000.

Marion County prosecutors were investigating Monday to see if Hoagland could still face trial on that 1993 theft case, said Peg McLeish, spokeswoman for Prosecutor Terry Curry. The statute of limitations on that kind of charge typically expires after five years.

Details of the criminal case against Hoagland were not available Monday. Officials with the Marion County clerk's and prosecutor's offices were trying to find the original paperwork, but it is likely that the documents were destroyed several years ago.

The FBI also is considering charges related to Hoagland's use of a false identity to obtain a pilot's license, Cardillo said.

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @vicryc.