A 42-year-old Hoboken man pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining his United States citizenship and passport, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Miguel Dario Bautista Jimenez, also known as Carlos Chapman Hernandez and Carlos Hernandez, 42, of Hoboken, pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with unlawful procurement of naturalization and passport fraud, Frazer said in a statement.
He entered his plea on October 14th before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.
Bautista, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was removed from the United States in or around 2013, following a criminal conviction in New York for an aggravated felony, according to court documents.
In or around June 2014, he re-entered the United States using a false identity.
Bautista applied for legal permanent residence and naturalization falsely stating that his name was “Carlos Chapman Hernandez,” a person born in Cuba, and falsely stating that he had never been convicted of a crime, had never been removed from the United States, and had never been to prison.
He then used the false identity to fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship documents through naturalization, including a U.S. passport.
The charges of unlawful procurement of naturalization and passport fraud each carry a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.
Each offense carries a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain from the offense, whichever is greatest.
Frazer credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations in Newark, the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Division, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, New York Field Office, and the FBI, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.
