Someone allegedly opened a bank account in his name and deposited a stolen tax return check, according to the Los Angeles Times. The alleged perpetrator was much younger and bore little resemblance to Bren, who is 78.

Forbes magazine lists Bren as the 16th-richest U.S. resident, but apparently the teller at the Cerritos branch of East West Bank didn’t recognize the person trying to cash the check as an unconvincing body double for the entrepreneur. The alleged culprit had a fake Social Security number and driver’s license and was able to deposit a U.S. Treasury check for $1,389,524.61.

He didn’t reference Bren’s job as chairman of Irvine Co., a giant land developer, but listed his occupation as “smoke shop,” according to the complaint by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Moundir Kamil, 41, has been arrested for his involvement and is expected to stand trial in November in Los Angeles.

Linda Foley, founder of the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego, said, “What this goes to show is no one is immune. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor.”

The Identity Theft Resource Center, founded in 1999 in San Diego, has grown to be a national force in the education of consumers, business, law enforcement agencies, and legislators on the prevention and detection of identity theft. The Center has assisted 7,827 victims of identity theft through December 2009 at no charge to consumers.

Remember if a billionaire can be a victim of identity theft, the rest of us need to do everything we can to be vigilant.