Justice Department Files Case Seeking to Revoke the Naturalization of Immigration Fraudster

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida filed a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida, against a native of Argentina who illegally procured his U.S. citizenship by gaining permanent resident status through the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act based on a false claim that he was born in Cuba.

"The Justice Department is committed to preserving the integrity of United States citizenship and will aggressively pursue the denaturalization of fraudsters who lie to gain immigration benefits," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "Civil denaturalization is an important tool in ensuring that only qualified individuals with good moral character earn U.S. citizenship. The civil complaint charges that Moio Bartolini exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization. The filing of this case sends a clear message: if you do not tell the truth to immigration officials and break our immigration laws, we will prosecute you and denaturalize you."

In 2013, Fernando Adrian Moio Bartolini, 50, a native of Argentina and resident of Windermere, Florida, was convicted in the Southern District of Florida of committing passport fraud. During criminal proceedings, he admitted that after he entered the United States on a visitor's visa, purchased a fraudulent Cuban birth certificate, obtained a fraudulent Cuban passport, and applied for permanent resident status in the United States under the Cuban Adjustment Act, claiming that he was a native and citizen of Cuba.

After Bartolini illegally procured naturalization, he fraudulently obtained a U.S. passport, falsely stating on his passport application that he was born in Cuba. His fraud was uncovered when Moio Bartolini attempted to enter the United States at the Miami International Airport aboard a flight from Medellín, Colombia, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer recognized his Argentinian accent. Moio Bartolini was arrested and charged with false statement in the application for and use of a passport. When he pleaded guilty, he admitted that he was born in Argentina and that he used the fraudulent Cuban documents to adjust status to permanent resident and, ultimately, to naturalize as a U.S. citizen.

The civil denaturalization complaint charges Moio Bartolini with illegal procurement of naturalization because he did not lawfully adjust to permanent resident status and because he provided false testimony in his naturalization interview. The complaint also charges that Moio Bartolini procured U.S. citizenship through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires the U.S. District Court to revoke Moio Bartolini's naturalization if it finds him liable on any of the charges.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security and will be litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division's Office of Immigration Litigation, General Litigation and Appeals Section.

The claims in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.