Falsely claimed a woman and child as his family to enable release
A Guatemalan man who used false identification documents to obtain a job was sentenced today to more than four months in federal prison.
Misael Saqueo Lopez-Tubac, age 36, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and living in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 6, 2018, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of identification documents.
In a plea agreement, Lopez-Tubac admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card and a fraudulent permanent resident card, also known as a “green card," when he completed employment paperwork and tax forms on July 23, 2015, at a business in Urbana, Iowa. The Social Security number and the Alien Registration number on the “green card" were issued other persons. Lopez-Tubac also used the same fraudulent Social Security card and “green card" when applying for work in Waterloo, Iowa, in September 2015, in Urbana in March 2016, and in Shell Rock, Iowa, in April 2016.
On May 8, 2018, ICE agents encountered Lopez-Tubac during a traffic stop in Waterloo. Lopez-Tubac told the agents that when he illegally entered the United States in March 2005, he was advised to enter the country with a woman and child and falsely claim they were his wife and child so that he would be released by immigration authorities if encountered. Lopez-Tubac and a woman and child were encountered by immigration authorities on March 30, 2005, and were released to maintain family unity pending immigration proceedings. Lopez-Tubac was not related to either the woman or the child.
A warrant was later issued for Lopez-Tubac’s arrest for unlawfully using another person’s social security number at a business in Postville, Iowa, but he was not found during an immigration enforcement action in May 2008. Lopez-Tubac’s whereabouts were unknown to immigration officials until his arrest on May 8, 2018.
Lopez-Tubac was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Lopez-Tubac was sentenced to 124 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Lopez-Tubac is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-CR-3020-LTS.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
