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Press Release

Venezuelan National Arrested Outside Veterans Medical Center For Possessing Fraudulent Green Cards And Social Security Cards

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Jhuliana Ceclilia Noriega Ron (36, Venezuela) with possessing a fake U.S. Permanent Resident Card, commonly known as a Green Card. If convicted, Noriega Ron faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. 

According to the complaint, on January 27, 2025, a police officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pulled over Noriega Ron after she had cut across multiple lanes of traffic in her car at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center. The officer asked Noriega Ron for her driver license, but Noriega Ron did not have a valid one. Noriega Ron instead provided a Venezuelan passport and gave consent for the officer to search her vehicle. Inside, officers found two fake Green Cards and two fake Social Security cards in the center console. One fake Green Card and one fake Social Security card were in Noriega Ron’s name. The United States Border Patrol informed the VA police that Noriega Ron had entered the United States illegally and without documentation at Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2023.

A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.         

This case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General, the Veterans Affairs Police, and the United States Border Patrol. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall.

Updated January 28, 2025

Topic
Immigration