Polish Citizen Charged in Federal Court with Illegal Reentry into the United States and Aggravated Idenity Theft

James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Adam Nowak (age 40), a Polish citizen, with Illegal Reentry by a Previously Deported Alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), and Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a).  If convicted on the illegal reentry charge, Nowak faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.  If convicted of aggravated identity theft, Nowak faces mandatory sentence of two years imprisonment.  As an illegal alien, Nowak also faces deportation.

The indictment alleges that Nowak, who was previously deported from the United States in 2001 following felony convictions for document fraud, was found in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on April 17, 2013.  According to a criminal complaint filed in this case, Nowak was arrested by Sheboygan Police Officers for drunk driving after he drove a semi tractor-trailer down a footpath along the boardwalk area of the South Pier tourist district in Sheboygan. 

The complaint also alleges that Nowak presented himself to police using the false name “Joseph Trzos,” and had in his possession an Arizona driver’s license in the name of “Joseph Trzos.”  The complaint further alleges that this individual was determined to be Adam Nowak, a previously deported alien without permission to be in the United States, through fingerprint analysis. 

The case was investigated by the Sheboygan Police Department and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin W. Proctor.

An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.