Former Arlington, Texas, Man Sentenced to 72 Months in Federal Prison in Passport Fraud Case

FORT WORTH, Texas — A former fugitive who was wanted for various offenses, including most recently, making a false statement on a passport application, pleaded guilty to that offense in federal court and has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 72 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Avniel Awan Anthony, 40, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Arlington, Texas, was taken into custody on April 14, 2016, by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).  Anthony pleaded guilty in June 2016 to an indictment charging one count of false statement in passport application.

In documents filed in the case, Anthony admitted that in October 2013, he willfully and knowingly made a false statement in an application for a passport, when he knowingly falsely stated his name was “Dominic Dewayne Wilson” on the passport application he submitted at the U.S. Post Office located on E. Bardin Road in Arlington.  In support of that application, Anthony presented a postal clerk a Texas identification card bearing his photograph and the name “Dominic Dewayne Wilson,” and he falsely swore that the information on the application was true.

Anthony was a DSS fugitive wanted for passport fraud, identity theft, evading the police, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Anthony changed his identity and fled to Playa de Carmen, Mexico, where he remained a fugitive until DSS located him in March 2016.

DSS and the USMS coordinated with the Playa de Carmen Tourist Police and Mexican immigration officials to locate, arrest, and return Anthony to the U.S. to face charges. 

The DSS is the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State with agents located in more than 160 countries worldwide.  DSS and the USMS work together to locate and return U.S. fugitives from abroad.

Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley prosecuted the case.

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