ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607310064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
Two and a half years of harassment suddenly made sense to Stephen and Sara Gill on Sunday morning.
The Gills, who live in Bassett, have been hounded incessantly by creditors seeking payment for purchases the couple swear they never made: thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, wallpaper, airplane tickets, paint.
The collection agencies became so aggressive at one point that the couple, still insisting the creditors were trying to squeeze money out of the wrong Stephen Gill, had to hire an attorney to negotiate a cease-fire.
And then Gill's co-workers at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Martinsville showed him the story on Jack Swint - a.k.a. Stephen P. Gill - in Sunday's Roanoke Times.
"They said, `Did you see the paper? You're on the front page,''' Gill said.
Swint, who says he has cashed hundreds of counterfeit payroll checks throughout the Southeast, has a credit history chock full of unpaid debts and worthless checks. He first took the Gill alias years ago, when he wanted to join the Army but was afraid his criminal record would disqualify him. Stephen P. Gill had been a childhood friend of his.
Swint used the two names interchangeably over the next decade, even filing for personal bankruptcy as Gill in 1994.
Although their names aren't exactly the same - the real Stephen Gill's middle initial is J - Swint's numerous creditors apparently didn't notice the difference.
Collection agencies have been calling from all over the country, Gill said.
But maybe the calls will stop now that Swint has been charged?
"Yeah," Gill said, and laughed. "Maybe."
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB