RALEIGH, N.C. – In a shocking turn of events, a former U.S. Army Sergeant has been sentenced for naturalization fraud, judicially denaturalized, and ordered removed from the United States. Edgar Daniel Cruz-Magallanes, a 31-year-old naturalized citizen of the United States, was born in Mexico and residing in Wake County.
Cruz-Magallanes was sentenced by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to one year of probation following a guilty plea to naturalization fraud. He was also judicially denaturalized as a United States citizen and ordered removed from the United States.
According to court records, Cruz-Magallanes fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship by making materially false statements under oath regarding his naturalization application. On March 19, 2015, he responded to the question “Were you ever involved in any way with any of the following: . . . Forcing, or trying to force, someone to have any kind of sexual contact or relations?” with a resounding “No.”
However, on June 10, 2020, in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Wake County, Cruz-Magallanes was convicted of three counts of indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 16 and 29 months and ordered to register as a sex offender. The victim was 8 years old.
Cruz-Magallanes was not arrested until after he naturalized, thus immigration officials were unaware of his crime before he was approved for naturalization. This case is a stark reminder of the importance of ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.
Cruz-Magallanes is another in a growing number of criminals that thought their heinous acts of the past would not catch up to them, and thankfully he was wrong. Cases like this not only protect the integrity of our immigration system, but it also allows us to remove known predators from our communities.
Defendant: Edgar Daniel Cruz-Magallanes, Exact criminal charges: Naturalization fraud, City and state: Raleigh, North Carolina, Exact date: March 19, 2015, Sentence or outcome: One year of probation, judicially denaturalized, and ordered removed from the United States.
This case was investigated by Agents with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and HSI, assigned to the Document Benefit Fraud Task Force, as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively identify and prosecute child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sebastian Kielmanovich prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-00368-1FL(3). Previous media coverage on this case can be found here: Click here.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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