Jamaican National Sentenced for Passport Fraud Offenses

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NEVILLE S. NICHOLSON, 62, a citizen of Jamaica last residing in the Bronx, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to approximately 12 months of imprisonment, time already served, for passport fraud offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2014, Nicholson submitted an application for a U.S. passport, in the name of another individual, at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut.  With his application, Nicholson provided the passport acceptance agent with a false birth certificate, a fraudulent New York State driver’s license, and his photograph for inclusion in the passport.  Nicholson then signed under oath claiming to be the other individual.  The U.S. Department of State subsequently issued a passport to Nicholson.

Nicholson used the fraudulent passport to travel between New York and Jamaica in 2014 and 2016.

Nicholson has been detained since his arrest on related New York state charges on September 1, 2017.  He was transferred to federal custody on January 19, 2018.

On November 1, 2018, Nicholson pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement in a passport application, and two counts of using a passport secured by false statement.

At the conclusion of today’s sentencing, Nicholson was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is subject to removal proceedings.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, with assistance from the New York City Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.