U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CAROL JOHN, a/k/a INES ISABEL RUIZ, a/k/a CAROL ATKINS, age 56, a citizen of Panama, pled guilty today to a two-count Indictment charging her with making a false statement in an application for a U.S. passport and reentry of a removed alien.
According to the Indictment, on or about March 4, 2016, JOHN submitted a false passport application using a fraudulent birth certificate. Further, JOHN was found in the United States after having been officially deported and removed on or about May 24, 1996, after having been convicted of a felony drug offense.
JOHN faces maximum term of imprisonment of ten years for Count 1 and twenty years for Court 2, respectively. JOHN also faces maximum fines of up to $250,000, five years supervised release after imprisonment per count, and a $100 special assessment per count. U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle set sentencing for December 7, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Diplomatic Security Service in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Irene González is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
