Cristian Daniel Diaz-Garcia, a 27-year-old Honduran national, was sentenced on Mar. 16 to three years and two months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft, false representation of a Social Security number, and making a false claim of United States citizenship for employment purposes. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
The case highlights the use of fraudulent identification documents to gain employment in the United States. According to evidence presented at trial, Diaz-Garcia applied for work with Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture II in Pinellas County by filling out an I-9 form and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. He used another person's identification to bypass the E-Verify system, which is designed to confirm employee eligibility electronically.
After being terminated from his job in 2022, Diaz-Garcia obtained additional identification belonging to a different U.S. citizen without that individual's knowledge. On February 1, 2023, he again sought employment with the same company using this new set of stolen credentials and again falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on official forms.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including 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 Attorney Joseph Wheeler III and Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes prosecuted the case.
This sentencing underscores ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to address identity theft and employment-related fraud involving unauthorized immigrants.
