Minnesota Woman Sentenced For Using A Passport Secured By A False Statement

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Cubtan Abdirahman Nur, 50, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was convicted of using a passport secured by a false statement, was sentenced to two years probation and a $1,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott S. Allen, Jr., who handled the case, stated that on April 21, 2015, the defendant attempted to enter the United States at the Rainbow Bridge Port of Entry. To gain entry, Nur used a United States passport. Authorities linked the defendant’s passport to a passport application filed in 2011 in which Nur claimed she was born in Ethiopia and only used one identity. Fingerprint analysis and a subsequent confession determined that in fact Nur reported a different name, birthdate, and country of birth when she filed for asylum in 1997.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero and the Department of State, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge William Ferrari.