Overview
- Stephen Craig Campbell pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal counts including misuse of a passport, possession of false papers, aggravated identity theft and possessing firearms as a fugitive, and he faces about 12 years in prison when sentenced.
- Campbell assumed the identity of University of Arkansas graduate Walter Lee Coffman by first applying for a passport in Coffman’s name in 1984, later had Coffman’s death record removed, obtained a replacement Social Security card in 1995, and used that identity to collect roughly $140,000 in retirement benefits and to buy property in New Mexico.
- He was arrested after a Feb. 19, 2025 standoff at his home in Weed, New Mexico, during which agents seized a fraudulent passport and later recovered 57 firearms and large quantities of ammunition from the property.
- Federal court papers allege Campbell planted a 1982 explosive device that injured his estranged wife and damaged nearby homes, and the 1983 Wyoming warrant charging him with attempted first-degree murder remains unresolved.
- Authorities say the scheme exploited weaker passport and Social Security verification in the 1980s and 1990s, a gap that allowed repeated document renewals and benefit claims and that may prompt reviews of agency identity-verification procedures.