Liberian National and Convicted Sex Offender Arrested for Naturalization Fraud

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment in June charging Cyril Domaquik Clemens, 71, a U.S. citizen born in Liberia, with naturalization fraud.  The indictment alleges that Clemens lied about his criminal conduct on his application to obtain U.S. citizenship. Clemens had his initial appearance before a federal judge last week.

According to the indictment and previously issued court documents, Clemens is alleged to have knowingly and materially made false statements under penalty of perjury on his naturalization application and during a naturalization interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In response to the questions “Were you EVER involved in any way with any of the following:…[f]orcing or trying to force, someone to have any kind of sexual contact or relations?” and “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?” he answered “No.”  Clemens took the oath of citizenship and naturalized on February 19, 2021.

On April 3, 2023, in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Durham County, Clemens pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent liberties with a child.  He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment between 16 and 29 months and ordered to register as a sex offender.  Clemens confessed to having sexually molested the child for more than a decade, from November 1, 2011, through March 7, 2022.  The victim was four years old when the abuse began.  Clemens was not arrested until after he had naturalized, so immigration officials were unaware of his crimes when they granted him citizenship.

Clemens is charged in a three-count indictment with naturalization fraud.  If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship.  

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. ICE ERO officers and HSI agents assigned to the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force are investigating the case as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively target child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.  USCIS’s Fraud Detection and National Security Division is assisting the initiative.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-CR-151-FL-RN.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.