Maximo Ernesto Torres, a 43-year-old Honduran citizen illegally in the United States, was sentenced to 106 days in federal prison for fraudulently using someone else’s Social Security number to secure employment and file tax forms under a fake identity.
Torres, residing in Calmar, Iowa, pleaded guilty on December 5, 2017, to one count of misuse of a Social Security number. He admitted in court to using a stolen Social Security number and a fabricated name to complete federal W-4 tax forms and other employment documents in Lawler, Iowa, on May 8, 2017.
The fraud stretched back years. Torres used the same false identity and forged documents to obtain work in Lawler in 2012, and had previously secured jobs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during 2008 and 2009 using similar fraudulent paperwork. His pattern of deception allowed him to remain employed and off the radar—until it didn’t.
Immigration officials caught on in September 2017 when Torres attempted to register a vehicle under the stolen identity and fake Social Security number. That move triggered a federal investigation by Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.
On the day of sentencing in Cedar Rapids, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand handed down the 106-day prison term. Torres must also serve three years of supervised release after completing his sentence. There is no parole in the federal system, meaning Torres will serve every day ordered.
Torres remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transfer to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt. Court records are available under case file 17-CR-2079 at the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic filing system. Follow updates from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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