Man Sentenced To Prison For Passport Fraud And Social Security Fraud

A man who illegally obtained a passport and social security benefits was sentenced on November 25, 2014, to 12 months’ imprisonment.

Raymundo Sierra-Mendez, age 71, from Mexico, received the prison term after a September 18, 2014, guilty plea to one count of social security fraud and one count of passport fraud.

In a plea agreement, Sierra-Mendez admitted he used a fraudulent name, social security card and birth certificate to obtain a United States passport in 2008.  He also applied for and obtained social security benefits in 2008, with the same documents.        

Sierra-Mendez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Sierra-Mendez was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 1-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by HSI and the Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.  

Court file information is available at https//ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 14-CR-4053.