Lawrence Man Sentenced to More Than One Year in Prison for Making False Statement in Passport Application and Identity Theft

BOSTON – A Lawrence man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston to falsely claiming to be a United States citizen in a passport application.

Ruben Dario Guerrero, 44, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 21 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. Guerrero is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In November 2024, Guerrero pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement in a passport application and one count of identity theft.

On Aug. 25, 2023, Guerrero submitted an application for a U.S. passport at a post office in Lawrence. Guerrero used the name, date of birth and social security number of a U.S. citizen who died in Puerto Rico in 1997 and signed the application under an attestation in which he declared under penalty of perjury that he was a United States citizen. In fact, however, identity documents from the Dominican Republic show Guerrero to be a Dominican citizen.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Richardson of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.