United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger and Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul Division William Lowder today announced the conviction of ZDENKO JAKIŠA, 47, for obtaining a Permanent Resident Card (I-551), commonly referred to as a “Green Card," by materially false claims and statements. JAKIŠA entered his plea today before Judge Susan Richard Nelson in United States District Court in St. Paul, Minn.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, JAKIŠA is a Bosnian citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States living in Minnesota. On April 17, 2014, JAKIŠA possessed a green card that was unlawfully obtained. In response to questions on his legal permanent resident applications, JAKIŠA knowingly denied that he had been arrested, charged, or imprisoned for breaking the law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, between July 1990 and October 1997, JAKIŠA was charged with at least seven separate crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On July 13, 1990, JAKIŠA was charged and convicted of Violent Behavior. He was charged with Grand Larceny on April 7, 1991, for allegedly stealing a cash register from a café. JAKIŠA was charged and convicted of Causing General Danger in September 1993 for shooting and killing his neighbor through her bedroom window.
According to JAKIŠA’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, he was arrested, charged and convicted of Theft for stealing commercial scales from an outdoor storage area on Oct. 11, 1994. JAKIŠA was convicted of Infliction of Grievous Bodily Damage in February 1997 for seriously wounding another person who was later discovered bloodied in the street. JAKIŠA was convicted of Disturbing Peace & Public Order for attempting to persuade a woman to leave her home by threatening that he would get a firearm, throwing bricks at her home, and by attempting to break through the front door. Less than a week later, JAKIŠA was charged with fighting and stealing a gold necklace from the victim’s neck.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney from the District of Minnesota Nathan P. Petterson and Trial Attorney Ann Marie Ursini of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice are prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
ZDENKO JAKIŠA, 47
Forest Lake, Minn.
Convicted:
* Possession of unlawfully obtained documents, 1 count
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
