DARIEN, CT – A brazen scheme to live and work in the United States under a stolen identity has landed FLOR CONSUELO DEL CARMEN CABALLERO BERNABE, 55, of Darien, in federal custody. The Peruvian national was arrested yesterday and is currently detained, facing a laundry list of federal charges stemming from a two-decade-long fraud.
According to court documents unsealed today, Caballero Bernabe entered the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa in 2000. She quickly abandoned any pretense of legal status, instead assuming the identity and Social Security number (SSN) of a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico. This allowed her to work, reside in Connecticut, and even obtain a Commercial Driver’s License – all under someone else’s name.
The deception didn’t stop there. Caballero Bernabe allegedly used the fraudulent identity to apply for and renew a U.S. passport in 2005 and 2015, using it for international travel. In a further attempt to solidify the ruse, she completed a Probate Court process in 2021 to legally change her name and gender to Byron Ruiz, then renewed the passport under the new alias and traveled internationally again. This wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment decision; this was a calculated, prolonged effort to evade detection.
The house of cards began to crumble when the actual owner of the stolen identity contacted the Social Security Administration in 2022, seeking disability benefits. They discovered someone in Connecticut had been earning income using their SSN. Federal investigators quickly zeroed in on Caballero Bernabe, and she allegedly compounded her crimes by making multiple false statements during questioning. The combined efforts of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, brought the scheme to light.
Caballero Bernabe is now facing serious federal charges: passport application fraud (max 10 years), misuse of a passport (max 10 years), making a false claim of U.S. citizenship (max 3 years), misuse of a social security account number (max 5 years), aggravated identity theft (mandatory 2 years), and making false statements (max 5 years). U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan cautioned that the complaint is merely an accusation, and Caballero Bernabe is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of “Operation Take Back America,” a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King is prosecuting the case. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case as it unfolds, bringing you the unvarnished truth behind these federal crimes. Expect more details as the legal process progresses.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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