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Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Social Security Fraud
PORTLAND, MAINE – Sergio Suhum, also known as Sergio Suhum-Nacho, 26, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States, who most recently resided in Brunswick, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 16 months in prison for social security fraud, immigration document fraud, false personation of an American citizen, and theft of government benefits.
According to court records, from at least March 2008, the defendant lived and worked in Maine using the identity of an actual United States citizen who resided in Texas. The defendant bought a fraudulent Texas birth certificate and Social Security card in the victim’s name.
He used the victim’s identity to obtain a Maine identification card and to apply for a Maine driver’s license; to obtain employment at DeCoster Egg Farm, Moark Farms, and Days Inn; to apply for Mainecare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; and to obtain about $1,500 in SNAP benefits before his crimes were discovered.
At sentencing, the victim said that the defendant’s use of his identity caused him numerous problems. He was denied credit cards and had difficulty getting a car loan. Maine Revenue Services sent him dunning letters for failing to file returns and pay taxes in Maine. The Texas Department of Public Safety repeatedly threatened to revoke his commercial driver’s license because of OUI convictions that the defendant accumulated in Maine which also jeopardized the victim’s job driving vehicles in Texas oil fields.
The victim was detained for hours at the border after visiting relatives in Mexico because of a warrant issued on the basis of the defendant’s activities in Maine. In imposing sentence, Judge Hornby noted that the problems that the defendant caused the victim were people’s worst nightmare and caused a great deal of anxiety and stress.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Contact: Halsey B. Frank, Assistant United States Attorney, Tel: (207) 780-3257.
RELATED: Guatemalan National Sentenced for Illegal Re-Entry
RELATED: Repeat Offender Salvador-Quino Gets Time-Served, Deported
Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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