Charlotte Man Convicted of Passport Fraud with Fake Identity

John Daley Strothers, 59, of Charlotte, is headed for federal prison after a jury convicted him on four felony counts tied to a brazen passport fraud scheme. Strothers used a forged Ohio birth certificate to apply for a U.S. passport under the alias Giovanni Daliente Strassini, triggering a federal investigation that exposed a web of lies spanning nearly two decades.

The crime unfolded on September 28, 2015, when Strothers submitted the fraudulent application at a Charlotte postal facility. The altered birth certificate listed the fake name and included multiple fabricated details. The document was flagged by fraud investigators at the U.S. passport processing center in Charleston, South Carolina, where examiners routinely screen applications to stop imposters from obtaining federal credentials.

Court evidence proved the alias didn’t exist. A witness from the Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics confirmed no record of a birth for anyone named “Giovanni Daliente Strassini” in Ohio. In reality, Strothers was born under his legal name, “John Daley Strothers,” and had previously used his real identity to apply for a passport on October 7, 1996—a fact he later denied under oath.

Strothers compounded his crimes during a voluntary interview with Diplomatic Security Service agents on March 1, 2016. He claimed “Giovanni Daliente Strassini” was his real name and falsely denied submitting the 1996 passport application. Those statements formed the basis of two counts of making false statements to federal agents—a charge that carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after just one and a half days of trial. Strothers now faces a maximum of ten years for passport application fraud and up to 15 years for possession of a fraudulent identification document—each carrying a $250,000 fine. He remains free on bond as prosecutors and the court prepare for sentencing.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Smith and Casey Arrowood of the Western District of North Carolina. The conviction underscores federal efforts to crack down on identity fraud that threatens national security and immigration integrity.

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