Mexican Man Convicted of Document Fraud

A Mexican man who used a false identification document to obtain a job was convicted by a jury today after a one-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Jose Lopez-Garcia, age 35, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of unlawful use of an identification document.  He was found not guilty of one count of misuse of a social security number.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about two hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Lopez-Garcia used a fraudulent permanent resident card, also known as a “green card,” bearing a number assigned to a female born in Cuba in 1934, when he completed an employment form on November 18, 2016, at a business in Cedar Rapids. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Lopez-Garcia remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Lopez-Garcia faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 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 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-24-LRR.

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