Miami Man Charged With Defrauding U.S. Immigration System as Part of a National Health Care Takedown

Defendant allegedly schemed to help others unlawfully gain U.S. citizenship

MIAMI - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services played a key role in an investigation resulting in federal charges against Eduardo Javier Ibarra Arrowsmith, 61, of Miami. Ibarra, a Cuban national and convicted felon, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents as well as aggravated identity theft. Ibarra participated in a scheme to fraudulently certify naturalization applicants as disabled to exempt them from the English language and civics requirements of the U.S. citizenship naturalization test.

Ibarra allegedly posed as a licensed medical doctor, impersonating a deceased Miami-Dade neurologist. He is accused of using the neurologist's credentials, including name, National Provider Identifier, and Florida medical license number, to fraudulently complete and sign at least 34 Forms N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions. The scheme resulted in 14 naturalization applicants obtaining U.S. citizenship without completing the required English language and civics tests.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and is part of the broader 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. Efforts have resulted in charges against 455 defendants associated with over $6.5 billion in alleged fraud targeting Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, and private insurers. Ibarra's case was a referral from USCIS to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations after USCIS' Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate identified Ibarra as the individual impersonating the deceased doctor.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida's Health Care Fraud Unit of the Economic Crimes and Cyber Frauds Section and the Department of Justice's Health Care Fraud Unit of the Fraud Division make up the Florida Strike Force. Agencies they worked with to investigate and prosecute the cases filed during the takedown included the DEA, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor OIG, the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, the FBI, the Florida Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, ICE HSI, the IRS, and USCIS.

To report suspected immigration benefit fraud or abuse to USCIS, please use the USCIS Tip Form.

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