A federal jury in Tampa has convicted Cristian Daniel Diaz-Garcia, a 27-year-old Honduran national without legal status in the United States, on multiple charges related to identity theft and fraud. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
Diaz-Garcia was found guilty of two counts each of aggravated identity theft, false representation of a Social Security number, and making a false claim of U.S. citizenship for employment purposes. He faces up to 24 years in federal prison, with sentencing set for March 17, 2026. Diaz-Garcia was indicted on July 30, 2024.
According to evidence presented at trial, Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture II, an employer enrolled in the E-Verify system designed to confirm employee work eligibility electronically, hired Diaz-Garcia after he applied for employment in Pinellas County on August 17, 2021. On his application and I-9 form used for E-Verify verification, Diaz-Garcia falsely claimed U.S. citizenship and used another person’s identification information.
After being terminated from his job in 2022, Diaz-Garcia acquired identification documents belonging to a different U.S. citizen without that individual’s knowledge. On February 1, 2023, he reapplied for employment with the same company using this new identity and again falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen on official forms.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations; the Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General; the Social Security Administration–Office of the Inspector General; the United States Border Patrol; the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Special Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph Wheeler III and Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes are prosecuting the case.
