A young man looking for a fresh start in Atlanta said a case of mistaken identity is ruining his life.
Arion Ford is a college graduate and hard worker who is looking for a job. He said he’s never even had a speeding ticket on his record.
Arieon Ford is a career criminal. He's serving a life sentence in St. Louis County, Missouri, after shooting a grandfather at a Chuck E. Cheese in 2015. His rap sheet includes theft and drug possession.
“We have different socials (security numbers), different heights, different weights,”explained Arion Ford. “He is currently serving a life sentence, as we speak. I, clearly, am not.”
It’s all due to a clerical error in St. Louis County over four years ago that identified Arion as Arieon, Ford said.
It's cost him several jobs trying to sort it all out. When Ford tried to go to court to clear his good name, he was told that he would have to pay to get his record expunged – even though the court admits it made a mistake. Ford said because he can’t keep a job, he doesn’t have enough money to hire an attorney.
“I was like, 'This wasn’t my error!” Ford said. “I've never stolen a piece of gum out of the grocery store. I'm angered by it.”
Police in St. Louis were also fooled by the similar names, putting Ford in the difficult position of explaining the mix-up to any officer who runs his name, KSDK reported.
“I have been pulled over before, and they thought I was the other Arieon. They thought I had these charges against me and there were warrants out for my arrest,” he said.
When he kept getting fired, Ford finally moved out of Missouri hoping for a fresh start in Atlanta. The lead criminal investigator on the case even wrote him a letter to show employers that he is not the same man who racked up dozens of felonies.
But Ford was fired by his employer in Georgia last week, after a background check company called First Advantage reported to his employer that he had a felony record.
Ford protested outside the First Advantage building in downtown Atlanta on Monday.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Why is this felony attached to my name? I’m not a criminal! It’s a bit ridiculous, and it’s annoying,” Ford said. “I can’t make money, I can’t get a job, because this felony is on my record.”
After 11Alive's story aired, First Advantage confirmed to Ford that the mixup has been resolved.
"The VP of operations reached out to me and said the error has been fixed," Ford said. "He also sent documentation informing me they corrected my information."
St. Louis County confirmed that Ford has a clean record.
“It’s totally frustrating, because I need a job,” Ford said. “That’s why I came to Atlanta: To work. To get a job, to get ahead.”