George L. Wilson, 54, of Providence, R.I., is headed to federal prison for 8 months after pleading guilty to passport fraud and making false statements to a government agent. The Dominican national exploited the identity of a man from the U.S. Virgin Islands to illegally obtain a U.S. passport and social security card, federal prosecutors confirmed today.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith handed down the sentence, which includes 3 years of supervised release following incarceration. Wilson will face immediate deportation proceedings upon release from prison. The case was brought by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for New England.
Court records show Wilson, originally from the Dominican Republic, used the personal identifying information of Alwyn E. Todman—a resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands—to petition Connecticut authorities in 1989 for a legal name change to George L. Wilson. He successfully obtained the change using Todman’s birthdate and Social Security number, laying the foundation for decades of fraudulent documentation.
In May 2013, Wilson applied for a U.S. passport, again using Todman’s identifying details. The fraud persisted until December 2014, when Todman died in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His death triggered a federal flag on the Social Security number, which Wilson had continued to use.
The scheme unraveled in April 2015 when Wilson walked into the Pawtucket Social Security Administration office demanding removal of a “death notice” tied to the number. He presented a counterfeit Social Security card bearing his name and Todman’s number, along with the fraudulent passport. The SSA manager seized the card and alerted federal investigators.
HSI agents moved in, arresting Wilson in August 2015. He admitted under questioning he was born in the Dominican Republic and provided a birthdate different from the one used on his passport. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zechariah Chafee, with investigative support from the Office of Inspector General – Social Security Administration.
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Key Facts
- State: Rhode Island
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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