Orlando Man Sentenced To 15 Months For Conspiring To Make And Use Falsified Document In Passport Application

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Manuel Domingo Santana (41, Orlando) to 15 months in federal prison for conspiracy to make and use a false document. 

Santana had pleaded guilty on March 21, 2019.

According to court documents, Santana and his co-defendant, Erika Cordova, conspired to make a fraudulent document in support of a passport application for one of Cordova’s children. Because the child was a minor, Cordova was required to present a notarized form from the child’s father, confirming his consent to the passport application. Instead of obtaining a consent form from the father, Cordova and Santana made the form appear to have been signed by the father. Santana also recruited an unidentified individual to pose as the father before a notary, so that the form could be notarized before Cordova submitted it with her child’s passport application. 

Cordova pleaded guilty on March 21, 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2019. 

“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is firmly committed to making sure those who commit fraud in an attempt to circumvent the two-parent consent law regarding the issuance of a United States passport for a minor face the consequences for their criminal actions. Additionally, we are committed to protecting children and denying the risk or opportunity for parental abduction, while protecting the rights of both parents,” said Frederick R. Stolper, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s (DSS) Miami Field Office. “The strong relationship we have with the Department of Homeland Security’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida, and other law enforcement agencies around the world is vital towards ensuring the integrity of U.S. travel documents and protecting greater U.S. interests.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Department of Homeland Security’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.