South African National Convicted of Passport Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

MIAMI – A federal jury in Miami convicted a South African national on Oct. 15 of making a false statement on a passport application and committing aggravated identity theft. 

According to the evidence presented at trial, Vasudevan Pillay, 68, first entered the United States in 1985 on a six-month tourist visa.  Upon his arrival, Pillay stole the identity of a U.S. citizen who had died decades earlier as a toddler.  Evidence introduced at trial showed that Pillay obtained the victim’s birth certificate and, using the stolen identity, secured a Social Security number and Florida driver license in the victim’s name. 

On Nov. 28, 2023, Pillay fraudulently applied for a U.S. passport using the victim’s name.

“For nearly forty years, this defendant lived under a lie,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “He stole the identity of a deceased child, defrauded the government, and tried to pass himself off as an American citizen. This conviction restores accountability and reaffirms that the rule of law still matters.”

Pillay faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the false statement on a passport application count and a mandatory two-year prison term for aggravated identity theft, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Pillay is subject to removal after he is sentenced.    

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan McSeveney of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The DSS Miami Field Office is investigating the case.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilana Malkin and Tim Farina are prosecuting the case. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number  25-cr-20260.

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