The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Susan Walmer, age 46, of Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania, was indicted Wednesday and charged with three counts of passport fraud.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, in December 2007, Walmer submitted three applications for U.S. passports for her children’s behalf. With the applications, Walmer allegedly submitted a forged affidavit from her ex-husband claiming she had his permission to obtain the passports for travel to Canada. While Susan Walmer and the children’s father shared physical custody, legal custody was provided to the father. The father did not provide permission for the children to obtain passports or leave the United States.
This case is being investigated by the United States Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
