Anastasios Alexander Hatzopoulos, Passport Fraud, GA 2024

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –  Anastasios Katzopoulos, a/k/a Anastasios Alexander Hatzopoulos, 38, of Rising Fawn, Georgia, and formerly of North Syracuse, New York, has been handed down a sentence of time served, following two months in jail, after admitting to making false statements on his passport application and to the Social Security Administration. The United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and John Grasso, Special Agent in Charge for the New York Field Division of the United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, announced the sentence.

In a guilty plea, Katzopoulos admitted receiving a social security number in 1993 and a U.S. passport in 2002. He further confessed to applying for a new social security number in June 2012, falsely claiming he had never been issued one before, and using this new number the following month to apply for a U.S. passport, again falsely stating it was his first application.

On August 16, 2016, Katzopoulos pleaded guilty before United States District Judge David N. Hurd. Along with serving the two-month sentence already completed, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release, completion of eighty (80) hours of community service, and a fine of $10,000.

This case was investigated by the United States Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, with Assistant United States Attorneys Carina H. Schoenberger and Sahar L. Amandolare handling the prosecution.

Although Katzopoulos’ sentence has concluded his time in custody, the repercussions of his deception continue to resonate within federal law enforcement circles. The case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences for fraudulent activities involving identity theft and official documents.