Mexican National Convicted of Misusing a Texas Inmate’s Social Security Number is Sentenced

TOLEDO, Ohio – A Mexican national residing in Pandora, Ohio, who admitted to using a social security number that belongs to an inmate at a Texas prison as his own, has been sentenced.

Julio Juarez Garcia, 32, was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary after he pleaded guilty in July to misuse of a social security number in violation of Title 42 United States Code 408(a)(7)(B).

According to court documents and testimony before Judge Zouhary, on Feb. 28, the defendant attempted to file taxes for the 2023 tax year with a fiscal officer for the Village of Pandora. He filled out tax forms and presented a W-2 document issued by his employer, where he had been employed since 2020. Law enforcement subsequently discovered that Garcia had submitted false information. During the investigation, it was learned that the defendant was using a social security number that was not his, but rather, it was a number assigned to an inmate who is serving a prison sentence at the Three Rivers Federal Correctional Institution in Live Oak, Texas. Garcia later admitted to investigators that the social security number was not his and that he was in the country illegally and was a citizen of Mexico. He is currently being held in federal custody pending removal from the United States.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United States Border Patrol, and the Village of Pandora Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dexter L. Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio.