Illegal alien from Mexico pleads guilty to giving fake documents, stolen identity to Shreveport employer

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that an illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty last week to using someone else’s Social Security card and submitting false information to an employer.

Martin Gonzalez-Colunga, 44, of Mexico, pleaded guilty April 12, 2018 before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of Social Security fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. According to the guilty plea, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified in April of 2016 that someone was using a Social Security number that did not belong to him or her at a Shreveport lawn service company. After investigating the matter, they found that Gonzalez-Colunga had submitted fake employment documents and someone else’s Social Security card in January of 2009 when he started working for the company. The defendant admitted to not being a citizen and said he had purchased the Social Security number not long after arriving in the United States from Mexico 20 years ago.

Gonzalez-Colunga faces not more than five years in prison for the Social Security fraud count and a mandatory two years in prison for the identity theft count. He also faces three years of supervised release, restitution and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for August 24, 2018.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tennille M. Gilreath is prosecuting the case.