U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of New Hampshire
Federal Building
53 Pleasant Street, 4th Floor
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
603/225-1552
| MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release October 6, 2008 |
Thomas P. Colantuono United States Attorney Alfred Rubega Assistant U.S. Attorney (603) 225-1552 |
OPERATION CHECKMATE
MASSACHUSETTS MAN SENTENCED FOR PASSPORT FRAUD
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –Pascual Duran-Gomez, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was sentenced today to jail time already served, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court for making false statements on an application for a United States Passport. Duran-Gomez pled guilty to the charge on July 28, 2008. Mr. Duran-Gomez has been in custody since his arrest on March 21, 2008, and is expected to be deported back to the Dominican Republic upon his release.
Duran-Gomez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was charged on December 12, 2007 after agents of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service uncovered the fraud at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The indictment to which Duran-Gomez pled guilty charged that he falsified a United States Passport Application by falsely stating his name and date and place of birth.
The case was prosecuted as part of Operation Checkmate, a joint initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. The goal of Operation Checkmate is to eliminate passport fraud, and thereby reduce identity theft while securing the nation’s borders.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega.