John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Boston, and Roberto Quiroga, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Bridgeport Resident Office, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging KASEBA KATAMBWA, a.k.a. “Patrick Ndaya Katambwa," “Katambwa Patrick Ndaya," and “Patrick Katambwa Ndaya," 50, with one count of making a false statement in an immigration document.
The indictment alleges that, in April 2018, Katambwa stated in an asylum application that his name was “Patrick Ndaya Katambwa," “Katambwa Patrick Ndaya," and “Patrick Katambwa Ndaya," with a specific date of birth; that he had resided in the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC") from February 1969 to January 2018; and that he had been arrested, convicted and sentenced, or imprisoned solely in the DRC, and not in any country other than the U.S. These statements were false. In addition to failing to state his true name and date of birth, Katambwa failed to state that he had resided in the United Kingdom for multiple years between February 1969 and January 2018, and that, under the name of Kaseba Katambwa, he had been previously convicted, sentenced, and imprisoned in the U.K. for rape, entering into an arrangement to facilitate the acquisition or use of criminal property, and dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit.
Katambwa, who was residing in Bridgeport, has been detained since his arrest on a federal criminal complaint on Feb. 1, 2019. The indictment was returned on Feb. 13, 2019. Katambwa appeared yesterday before U.S Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.
If convicted of the charge, Katambwa faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
