Juan Arturo Martinez, 62, a Mexican national, has pleaded guilty to charges of using a passport obtained through false statements and passport fraud. Martinez now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
Court documents reveal that Martinez, a Mexican citizen without legal permission to be in the U.S., fraudulently applied for a U.S. passport in 2002, listing his place of birth as Mission, Texas, which was false. He submitted a similar fraudulent renewal application in 2012, again claiming Mission, Texas, as his birthplace.
On September 11, 2021, Martinez used the passport he had secured with false information to gain entry into the U.S. at the Port Canaveral Seaport. Additionally, in 2022, he submitted another passport renewal application, once again fraudulently claiming his birth location as Mission, Texas.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karyna Valdes.
Martinez’s guilty plea highlights the serious consequences of using fraudulent documents to gain entry into the U.S. and to obtain government-issued identification, such as a passport.
