Carlos Alexis Chavez-Paz, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, pled guilty on Aug. 6 to aggravated identity theft and reentering the United States after a previous removal. Chavez-Paz was sentenced to two years and one day in prison and remains subject to a prior order of removal.
According to court documents, Chavez-Paz has illegally entered or reentered the United States four times and has been deported on three occasions. On Jan. 10, 2025, at a Department of Motor Vehicles customer service center in Stafford County, he presented an authentic Kentucky driver’s license with his photograph but under another person’s name. He also submitted a counterfeit Puerto Rican birth certificate, a counterfeit Social Security card containing the victim’s Social Security number, and mail addressed to the identity theft victim.
Chavez-Paz used these documents while applying for a Virginia driver’s license under the victim’s name as part of an effort to evade detection by immigration authorities.
Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C., made the announcement following sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Eitzen is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice that aims to address illegal immigration and combat transnational criminal organizations.