The name on the indictment is “John Doe,” but the identity-theft case emerging at the federal courthouse in Wichita has made big news for weeks in the nation’s Orthodox Jewish community — especially in New Jersey where the man and his wife lived for years under an assumed identity.
U.S. Magistrate Don Bostwick learned the man’s real name is Ted Riley Floyd after he arrived in Wichita for a court hearing three weeks ago. But in the Hasidic Jewish community of Lakewood, N.J., where he lived, practiced the Orthodox culture and sent his children to school, the 29-year-old was known as Nathaniel James Levi. He’s charged with making a false statement on a passport application.
The Yiddish news site Vos Iz Neias (What’s News) reports the discovery of Floyd’s true identity as “the biggest exposé to hit the bastion of Torah Judaism in years.” Concerned that members of its community had been exposed to a lifestyle that literally was not kosher, VIN tracked down Floyd’s former rabbi in Wichita to confirm Floyd had officially converted to Judaism. Rabbi Pinchas Aloof appeared on the Zev Brenner talk show to confirm he had converted Floyd.
A recording of the show appears on the blog Yid-Vid.com. Floyd’s antics have also made YouTube, including this parody: “Nathan Levy (sic) Dancing.”
Floyd had left Wichita with a couple of misdemeanor theft warrants pending in Reno and Barton Counties, according to a federal investigation. Bostwick ordered Floyd held without bond.The judge said in his order that Floyd was contemplating whether to stand trial in Wichita, or ask to return to New Jersey, where he could face more serious charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas would have to approve such a move.
Update:Â Floyd is scheduled for a change of plea hearing April 28 before Judge Monti Belot.