BIRMINGHAM - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted sisters from Guatemala for fraudulently using someone else’s Social Security number and identification in order to misrepresent their immigration status and get jobs in Marion County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson.
Separate indictments filed in U.S. District Court charge that both INES GLADDIS AVALOS-PAAU, 35, and LOURDES MAGDALENA AVALOS-PAAU, 33, used an alias, falsely claimed a Social Security number assigned to the person whose name they used, and fraudulently presented an Arkansas non-driver’s identification card in that name when they applied for jobs. The indictment also charges that the women fraudulently misrepresented on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ forms for employment eligibility verification that they were U.S. citizens.
Ines Gladdis Avalos-Paau misused the documents and misrepresented her immigration status in February 2014 when she applied for a job at Hamilton Plastic Products in Hamilton, according to her indictment.
Lourdes Magdalena Avalos-Paau misused the documents and misrepresented her immigration status in December 2017 when she applied for a job at Kith Kitchens in Haleyville, according to her indictment.
The maximum penalty for both falsely representing a Social Security number and for fraudulently using an identification document is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for making a fraudulent statement on a government immigration document is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
SSA, OIG, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
