Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship or Naturalization

According to court documents, naturalized U.S. citizen Carlos Fabian Velez, 54, of San Antonio, plead guilty to 1 count of Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship or Naturalization for knowingly making false, sworn statements on his naturalization application, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1425(a). Specifically, in response to the question “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested” on his Application for Naturalization, Velez answered, “No”, when in fact, as he then knew, he had committed the crime and offenses of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography in San Antonio, Texas since at least 2014.

The guilty plea comes after VELEZ previously plead guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography and was sentenced to 210 months in prison. By pleading guilty to Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship charge, Velez is now subject to mandatory denaturalization. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

The FBI’s Field Office in San Antonio, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, US Citizen and Immigration Services-Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (USCIS-FDNS) and Bexar County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fidel Esparza III is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.