TSA - Transportation Security Administration

06/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/17/2025 05:39

Philippine national indicted for aggravated identity theft and false impersonation of a U.S. citizen while on a cruise ship

National Press Release
Tuesday, June 17, 2025

JUNEAU, Alaska - A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment last week charging a Philippine national legally residing in the U.S. with stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen and falsely impersonating the victim while on a cruise ship in Alaska.

According to court documents, between May 11-14, 2025, Enrico Ronquillo, 37, falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen on a cruise ship for entry into the vessel's manifest. Ronquillo allegedly used a counterfeit California driver's license and California birth certificate that contained the victim's personal information while aboard the ship. The indictment further alleges that Ronquillo made and used a fraudulent IRS Form W-9 that contained the victim's name, signature, address and social security number while aboard the ship.

Ronquillo is charged with one count of false impersonation of a citizen of the U.S., one count of making and using a false document, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The defendant will make his initial court appearance on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison for each aggravated identity theft count, and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the other two counts. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska, Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Kymberly Fernandez, Area Port Director, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Port of Anchorage made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office, Juneau Resident Agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case, with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers, Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, Transportation Security Administration Office of Law Enforcement, Federal Air Marshals Service and the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Reed is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) 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 and drug trafficking. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

UPDATE: This release has been updated to include the Transportation Security Administration Office of Law Enforcement, Federal Air Marshals Service as an investigating agency.

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