Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen Loeffler announced today that a Fairbanks man was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks, to five months in jail on a charge of passport fraud, with credit for time he had already served since his arrest in December 2010.

On June 10, 2011, Royce Allen Eagle, 26, of Fairbanks, Alaska, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Beistline, who also sentenced Eagle to three years of supervised release, during which he will be subject to strict conditions.

Eagle deserted from the U.S. Navy in Norfolk, Virginia in 2006, and fled to Alaska. He created a false identity under the name “Rick Engle” by obtaining a “delayed birth certificate” in that name through the Alaska state courts. Eagle falsely swore before a state judge that he was born in Nome, and that the birth was not recorded at that time. After obtaining the birth certificate, he attempted to obtain a social security card and a U.S. Passport in the “Engle” identity.

Investigators from the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of State, interviewed the defendant in Fairbanks in December 2010. After obtaining his fingerprints, they learned his true identity and his status as a deserter, and he was arrested. Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 16, 2010, and pled guilty to one count of passport fraud on March 17, 2011. He was also charged in state court in Fairbanks with forgery in the second degree and attempted perjury, both felonies. He received two years in prison on each of those charges, with all but four months suspended.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers.

Return to Top