Mexican National Indicted for Passport Fraud
Last Update: 7/12 4:03 pm

(2009) MCALLEN – A federal grand jury indicted a 37-year-old Mexican national for passport fraud and making a false claim to U.S. citizenship.

Joel Alonso Rivera-Martinez, an illegal immigrant, was arrested last month in Edinburg. According to the indictment, Rivera applied for a passport at a post office in McAllen in January 2009. On the application, he allegedly claimed to be another person, who actually was a U.S. citizen. Rivera is accused of presenting a birth certificate and Texas driver’s license in the name of the citizen. He received the passport in June 2009.

Four months later, the real U.S. citizen applied for a passport but was unable to get one, because one was already issued under his name. Prosecutors claim Rivera used the passport at least 45 times to cross from Mexico into the U.S.

After his arrest, a judge ordered Rivera to remain in custody with no bond pending a trial.

If convicted, Rivera could be sentenced to up to 15 years in federal prison with no parole on the passport fraud charge and up to three years imprisonment on the false claim to citizenship charge, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge. Rivera would also be subject to deportation from the U.S.

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