NASHVILLE, Tenn.- July 22, 2013- Jose Camarena, 37, of Gallatin, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on July 19, 2013, to charges arising from fraudulent attempts to obtain a United States passport, announced David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Camarena pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false statement in an application for a United States passport and two counts of falsely representing that he was a United States citizen. Camarena admitted during the plea hearing that he is not a citizen of the United States and that, in 2008, and again in 2012, he applied for a United States passport while falsely representing that he was a U.S. citizen. Camarena also acknowledged that he submitted both passport applications under a false name and admitted providing false birth certificates and a Social Security card that he had obtained unlawfully in support of these applications.
After accepting Camarena’s plea, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 27, 2013. Camarena could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison in connection with the false statement counts and to up to three years in prison in connection with the false representation of citizenship counts.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service, with assistance from the Gallatin Police Department and the United States Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William F. Abely.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
