Wisconsin Man Sentenced For Passport Fraud

CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- An Indian national and Wisconsin resident who attempted to apply for a West Virginia birth certificate using a fake passport was sentenced yesterday to time served and three years of supervised release, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  Stuart commended the investigative work of the Diplomatic Security Service within the United States Department of State.

“Attempting to obtain or use false personal identification documents is a serious offense,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “In turn, as a matter of national security, my Office will take cases like this very seriously and prosecute every case to the fullest extent possible.” 

Mohammed Maaz, also known as Adam Rizk, 20, pleaded guilty on May 24, 2018, to passport fraud after he submitted a phony Canadian passport purporting to identify his mother to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources in February 2017.  He was attempting to obtain a birth certificate that he could then use to fraudulently secure a United States passport.  Maaz had been detained since his arrest on March 5, 2018.

Assistant United States Attorney Gabriele Wohl handled the prosecution. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.

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