Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Document Fraud

A man who used a fraudulent social security card was sentenced today to more than five months in federal prison.

Valentin Munoz-Lopez, age 35, a citizen of Mexico residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 1, 2024, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of an identification document and one count of misuse of a social security number.

At the guilty plea, Munoz-Lopez admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card bearing an alias name to prove his authorization to work in the United States when he completed employment and tax forms in February 2024 at a business in Lime Springs, Iowa. The number on the Social Security card was assigned to the person whose name was on the Social Security card. Social Security cards are documents prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States. As an alien unlawfully in the United States, Munoz-Lopez was not authorized to work in the United States. Munoz-Lopez also used the fraudulent Social Security card when he applied for work at businesses in Limes Springs and Cresco, Iowa, in June 2020, January 2022, April 2022, and May 2022.

Munoz-Lopez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Munoz-Lopez was sentenced to 161 days' imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Munoz-Lopez is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transferred to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-CR-2034.

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