Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in Lawrence pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to identity theft and related charges.

Willy Antonio Hernandez Camilo, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of passport fraud, two counts of misuse of a Social Security number, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for June 4, 2018.

In 2014, Hernandez Camilo applied for a passport at a Methuen 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 a 2012 Massachusetts driver’s license, both in the victim’s name. In 2016, Hernandez Camilo went to a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles office in Haverhill and applied to renew his Massachusetts driver’s license. Again, he represented the victim’s identity to be his own. Hernandez Camilo admitted that he knew the identity he used was not fabricated but belonged to a real person.

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 a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised released, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of misuse of a social security number provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $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; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.