Buffalo Man Sentenced For Trying To Renew The Passport Of A Dead Man

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Porfirio Rosa, a/k/a Luis Rosa, 74, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of making false statements in application for a passport, was sentenced to time served (six months) by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott S. Allen, Jr. and Stephanie Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that on October 9, 2015, the Western Passport Center in Tucson, Arizona received a United States Passport Renewal Application from an individual identifying himself as Luis Rosa.  The application was mailed from the defendant’s residence in Buffalo. As proof of identity and citizenship, the defendant submitted an expired U.S. passport issued in 2003 in the name of Luis Rosa.

Further investigation revealed that the name, social security number, and date of birth provided on the passport renewal application and original passport belonged to a man who died in 1995. 

At the time of his arrest, the defendant was in possession of several New York State identification cards as well as federal Social Security cards containing several different names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. 

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of State, under the direction of William Ferrari and the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Grasso.