America's oldest living World War II veteran was robbed by thieves who drained his personal bank account through identity theft, CNN reported.
Richard Overton is 112 years old and lives in Austin, Texas. His cousin, Volma Overton Jr., discovered Thursday that a thief had robbed the bank by accessing Richard Overton's Social Security and bank account numbers, CNN reported.
“He’s a quite visible and well-known person, so if it can happen to him it can happen to anyone,” said Volma Overton, who did not reveal the amount taken.
Volma Overton did not disclose the amount that had been stolen from the personal bank account, but said it was "considerable" and that the account has been depleted for "a couple of months." He discovered the theft when he made a deposit, checked the balance and realized the account only contained the money just deposited, according to Newsweek.
"We don't know who did it," Volma Overton told CNN. "It's a shock, it hurts, it hurts tremendously," he said.
The bank account that was drained is separate from a GoFundMe account the family uses to pay Richard Overton's 24-hour care, which costs $480 per day, according to Dallas Morning News.
Overton celebrated his 112th birthday on May 6, according to ancestry.com. He registered for the draft on Oct. 16, 1940, in Austin and enlisted in the Army on Sept. 3, 1942, according to military records.
He became a member of the Army's 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion, an all-black unit that served in the Pacific theater, CNN reported.
In 2013, he was honored by President Barack Obama in a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, Overton is the oldest man in America.
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