Man Assumed Identity Of 2 U.S. Citizens, Police Say
EL PASO, Texas – A local man remains in federal custody after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested and charged him July 28 with aggravated identity theft among other charges.
Francisco Alejandro Tapia-Quezada, 38, entered the country with a border crossing card, or B1/B2 visa. In March 2004, he allegedly unlawfully applied for employment using the identity information of a U.S. citizen, who at the time was a juvenile.
Tapia-Quezada completed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employment eligibility verification form I-9 with the juvenile’s information, and forged his signature. He also presented photocopies of the youth’s Social Security card and a fraudulent resident alien card.
In July 2008, Tapia-Quezada unlawfully applied for a job and completed a form I-9 using the identity information of another U.S. citizen. This time, Tapia-Quezada presented a photocopy of the U.S. citizen’s Social Security card and a copy of the man’s altered Texas-issued identification card. Most recently in May, Tapia-Quezada applied for a job using fake Social Security and resident alien cards, both bearing fictitious numbers.
According to court documents, Tapia-Quezada purchased the fraudulent copies of the Social Security and resident alien cards in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, for about $100 to $150 each. He also altered a Texas-issued identification card belonging to a U.S. citizen without the person’s knowledge in order to gain employment.
Tapia-Quezada allegedly assumed the identity of two U.S. citizens with the purpose of unlawfully gaining and maintaining employment or benefits.
“Identity theft is not only a crime that victimizes and can wreak havoc on people’s lives, it’s a serious federal crime with the potential of making our country vulnerable to people who may want to enter the country assuming someone else’s identity to do us harm,” said Manuel Oyola-Torres, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in El Paso.
This investigation by the El Paso HSI Public Safety Group is continuing. Tapia-Quezada’s preliminary and detention hearing is set for Wednesday in federal court.
