NEW YORK – A man, who escaped from jail in Puerto Rico where he was serving a 27-year sentence after having been convicted of murder and other crimes, was sentenced Monday just under four years in federal prison for identity theft.

Ivan Orta Cuprill was sentenced for stealing the identity of another person and applying for student loans using that person’s name and Social Security number.

Beginning in 1999, Cuprill submitted applications for financial aid to attend SUNY at Old Westbury. In the applications, hr identified himself as “Jaime Torres” and used the Social Security number belonging to a person with that name.

The loans were approved and funds were paid by Citibank USA to the college on Cuprill’s behalf.

He attended the school for over a year, but never repaid the loans.

At the same time as his July 2006 arrest on those charges, his true identity was unknown. However, agents identified Cuprill from fingerprints and learned that since 1994 he had been wanted for escape from prison while serving a 27 year sentence for murder and other crimes.