Woman Pleads Guilty To Unlawful Procurement Of U.S. Citizenship

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Munia Parvin a/k/a Zarrin Hoque (50, Sarasota) has pleaded guilty to unlawful procurement of United States citizenship. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Parvin first appeared before the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1996 as an immigrant from Bangladesh when she applied for asylum in the United States. The INS found her asylum petition questionable and referred her case to an immigration court judge for decision. In 1997, the immigration court allowed Parvin to depart from the United States voluntarily by a set date, and when she did not, entered a warrant for her arrest and removal from the country.

Also in 1997, a woman by the name of Zarrin Hoque filed a petition with the INS to register as a permanent resident alien, claiming to be an immigrant from Bangladesh. She received that status and, ultimately, became naturalized as a U.S. citizen on June 4, 2012. Investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations found that Parvin and Hoque were the same person and that “Hoque” had given false answers on her citizenship application when she denied using any other identity with the INS, or ever having been ordered deported or removed from the United States.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.