Federal Grand Jury in Louisville Indicts Honduran National for Illegal Reentry, Social Security Fraud, and Identity Theft Offenses

Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned a superseding indictment this week charging an illegal alien with illegal reentry after deportation or removal, social security number fraud, and aggravated identity theft.   

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations, Nashville, and Sam Olson, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago, U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement made the announcement.

According to the original indictment, Vidal Ricardo Murillo-Zuniga, age 34, a citizen of Honduras, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about January 22, 2025,Murillo-Zuniga was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about May 29, 2013.

According to the superseding indictment, on or about June 13, 2024, Murillo-Zuniga committed social security number fraud in Nelson County, Kentucky when he used another person’s social security number to obtain employment at Mammy’s Kitchen. On that same date, he committed aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory 2-year prison sentence, when he used another person’s name, date of birth, and social security number during and in relation to the social security number fraud to obtain employment.

The defendant previously made an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on a federal complaint and arrest warrant. The Court ordered the defendant detained pending trial. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years and a maximum sentence of 9 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by HSI and ICE ERO.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Ansari is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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