The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced today that criminal charges have been initiated against Leonard Sampson, age 62, a native and citizen of Guyana.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, a Grand Jury in Scranton today returned a five count Indictment charging Sampson with illegal re-entry into the United States after having been previously deported on four occasions, aggravated identity theft, falsely claiming to be a United States citizen, false statements in relating to acquiring a United States passport, and food stamp fraud.

     The indictment alleges that the Sampson fraudulently used the name of another person to engage in fraud and to reenter the United States after being previously deported. Sampson was arrested in Wilkes-Barre in March 2012.

     If convicted, Sampson faces imprisonment of up to 70 years and fines in excess of $1,000,000.

     The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.

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