WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Tuesday charging Anibal Rios Lavias, 30, a U.S. citizen born in Mexico, with naturalization fraud.
Lavias is accused of lying about his criminal conduct on his application to obtain U.S. citizenship. The indictment alleges that he made knowingly and materially false statements under oath and penalty of perjury during a naturalization interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).
According to the indictment and previously issued court documents, in response to the questions “Were you EVER involved in any way with any of the following: … [f]orcing or trying to force someone to have any kind of sexual contact or relations?” and “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?” he answered “No.”
Lavias took the oath of citizenship and naturalized on May 4, 2018. However, on March 19, 2024, in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Alamance County, he pleaded guilty to five counts of statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 300 and 420 months and ordered to register as a sex offender.
“The defendant’s actions are a betrayal of the trust placed in him by the U.S. government,” said Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We will aggressively pursue those who attempt to deceive the system and obtain U.S. citizenship through false means.”
Lavias is charged in a two-count indictment with naturalization fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick is prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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