Guatemalan Man Sentenced to Prison Following Deportation and Document Fraud

A Guatemalan man who had been deported twice, illegally returned to the United States, and then used false identification documents to obtain a job was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison.

Cesar Solovi-Valle, age 33, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Decorah, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 28, 2019, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of identification documents and one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

In a plea agreement, Solovi-Valle admitted he had previously been deported two times from the United States and that he illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Solovi-Valle was deported in September 2004 following a conviction in the Southern District of Texas for illegal entry into the United States.  Solovi-Valle was deported in August 2008 following convictions in June 2008 in Allamakee County, Iowa, for operating a motor vehicle under the influence (OWI), and in July 2008 in Clayton County, Iowa, for third degree criminal mischief.

Solovi-Valle also admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card and a fraudulent permanent resident card, also known as a “green card,” when he completed an employment form using an alias name in November 2016, at a business in Waukon, Iowa.  The Social Security account number on the card used by Solovi-Valle belonged to another person.  The Alien Registration number on the “green card” was issued to another person.  On November 30, 2016, Solovi-Valle was arrested by immigration agents at the business in Waukon where Solovi-Valle was working under the alias name.

Solovi-Valle was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Solovi-Valle was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Solovi-Valle is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-1047.

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