Illegal Alien Convicted of Using Another Person’s Social Security Number

A Guatemalan man who used another person’s social security number to complete employment paperwork was convicted by a jury on November 26, 2018, after a one-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Adner Toj-Velasquez, age 35, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, was convicted of one count of misuse of a social security number.  The verdict was returned following about 25 minutes of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that on February 8, 2015, Toj-Velasquez used someone else’s social security number on employment and tax documents when applying for work in Luana, Iowa.  On the employment form, Toj-Velasquez falsely claimed to be a United States citizen.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Toj-Velasquez was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the verdict was returned and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Toj-Velasquez faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and was investigated by the 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-1036-CJW.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.