Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Document Fraud

A Mexican man who used a false identification document to obtain a job was sentenced today to six months in federal prison.

Jose Lopez-Garcia, age 35, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 7, 2018, jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of unlawful use of an identification document. 

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.  Lopez-Garcia also used a fraudulent “green card” when he applied for work at another Cedar Rapids business on February 22, 2017.

Lopez-Garcia was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Lopez-Garcia was sentenced to six 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.

Lopez-Garcia 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-24-LRR.

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