BOSTON - Wilkin Pena Soto, 31, was indicted today in federal court in Boston on one count of passport fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Pena Soto applied for a passport at an Attleboro Post Office in August 2017, purporting to be a U.S. citizen. On the application, he represented that the name, Social Security number, and date of birth of a Puerto Rican man were his. He supported the application with a birth certificate and Massachusetts driver’s license in the U.S. citizen’s name. It is further alleged that Pena Soto committed aggravated identity theft in connection with the passport application.
The charging statute for aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of passport fraud provides for no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised released and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
