U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has sentenced Douglas Anthony Eze, 55, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to a federal prison term of one year and one day for visa fraud. Following his prison sentence, Eze will undergo three years of supervised release and has been fined $20,000.
The sentencing was announced by Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, alongside Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from the Washington District.
According to court documents, Eze entered Canada illegally in 1991 using a fraudulent passport. After being ordered deported by Canadian authorities in 1995, he fled to the United States two years later under the identity of a Canadian citizen whom he knew personally.
Eze used this stolen identity to apply for a green card and eventually gained U.S. citizenship under false pretenses before changing his last name to Eze. As a fraudulent citizen, he sponsored two children for permanent residency in the United States by falsely using the stolen Canadian identity on immigration documents related to the children.
He continued exploiting the victim’s identity to obtain a U.S. passport, driver's license, and membership in the Global Entry Trusted Traveler Network without permission from the actual Canadian citizen whose information was used.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended HSI and USCIS for their investigative work leading to this outcome and expressed gratitude towards Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen E. McGuinn and Reema Sood who prosecuted the case.
For further details about activities or resources available through the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, individuals can visit their official website at www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
