Jury Convicts Schenectady Siblings of Immigration Fraud

ALBANY, NEW YORK – A federal jury yesterday voted to convict siblings Mario Cardenas, age 34, and Jennifer Cardenas, age 32, both of Schenectady, New York, of making false statements under oath in applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The evidence at trial established that Mario Cardenas and Jennifer Cardenas, both born and raised in Guatemala, entered the United States with their mother, Susana Alarcon Moscoso, in February 1999. They entered on visitor visas. Once in the United States, the siblings claimed under oath that they were born in El Salvador, a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) country. Guatemala is not a TPS country. The TPS designation means that under certain circumstances, citizens of designated countries are granted temporary immigration status in the United States, and can work here, because returning home may be too dangerous.

Because of these false statements, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted the siblings protected status, which allowed them to live and work in the United States for over 15 years. As part of their fraudulent scheme, the siblings submitted forged Salvadoran birth certificates to USCIS, and omitted information about their Guatemalan births and citizenship from annual TPS and employment authorization renewal forms.

The defendants face up to 10 years in prison, up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. is scheduled to sentence them on October 16, 2017.

June 9, 2017, their mother, Susana Alarcon Moscoso, pled guilty to falsely claiming Salvadoran citizenship. In her guilty plea, she admitted that she is a citizen of Guatemala who has never lived in, or been a citizen of, El Salvador. Judge Scullin is scheduled to sentence her on October 10, 2017.

This case was investigated by HSI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Coffman and Joseph A. Giovannetti.