PENSACOLA, FLORIDA - Carlos Dominguez Lopez, 36, of Mexico, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to false statement in an application for a U.S. passport and aggravated identity theft. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "Trying to lie, cheat, and steal your way into this country won't get you anything except a one-way ticket to federal prison and a swift deportation thereafter. My office remains committed to aggressively prosecuting criminal illegal aliens like this defendant who brazenly violate our immigration laws."

Court documents reflect that in July of 2022, the defendant purported to be another individual and executed a United States passport application at the Escambia County Clerk of Court Office. The defendant provided a birth certificate and identification card in the other individual's name, without that person's permission. After the false statements were made, a United States passport was issued to the defendant.

An ICE detainer has been lodged against Dominguez Lopez, and deportation proceedings against him will commence once he completes his prison sentence.

The conviction and sentence were the result of a joint investigation by the United States Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica S. Etherton.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, human and drug trafficking.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.