WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An immigrant who changed the legal name of his identity theft victim to his own was spared from federal prison in a case even the federal judge called remarkable.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced 82-year-old Ramon Perez-Rivera on Wednesday to the one night in jail he had already spent when arrested.

Prosecutors say Perez-Rivera also changed the victim’s birth record to his own name and used the identity to obtain food stamps and Medicaid, a U.S. passport and a driver’s license.

His defense attorney says his client is uneducated and received some very bad advice from a California notary about changing the victim’s name.

Perez-Rivera told the court that he thought he was legal.

He pleaded guilty in August to possession of unlawfully obtained documents and other charges.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An immigrant living illegally in the United States for decades faces sentencing in an identity theft scheme so ingenious that prosecutors say a California court unwittingly changed the name of the U.S. citizen whose identity he assumed to his own real name.

Wednesday’s hearing for 82-year-old Ramon Perez-Rivera brings to a close one of the most unusual identity theft cases in the country.

Prosecutors say that armed with that court order, Perez-Rivera then also changed the victim’s California birth record to his own name. He was indicted in December with using the identity to obtain food stamps and Medicaid, a U.S. passport and a driver’s license.

He pleaded guilty in August to charges including possession of unlawfully obtained documents and illegal re-entry under a deal sparing him from federal prison.