Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico.

Wilkin Pena Soto, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of passport fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for June 4, 2018.

In August 2017, Pena Soto applied for a passport at an Attleboro Post Office purporting to be a U.S. citizen. On the application, he represented that the name, Social Security number, and date of birth of a Puerto Rican man were his. He supported the application with a birth certificate and Massachusetts driver’s license in the U.S. citizen’s name. Pena Soto also committed aggravated identity theft in connection with the passport application.

The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of passport fraud provides for no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.