Department of State Office Of Inspector General's Identity Theft Initiative Leads to Arrest in Passport Fraud

U.S. Department of State

Office of Inspector General

Washington, DC  20522-0308

PRESS RELEASE:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL’S

IDENTITY THEFT INITIATIVE LEADS TO ARREST IN PASSPORT FRAUD

For Immediate Release                                                For further information contact

April 29, 2005                                                              Patricia Yorkman at (202) 663-0380

WASHINGTON –The Office of Inspector General (OIG) announces the arrest of an individual in Lexington, North Carolina, on charges of making a false statement in application and use of a passport, and presenting false information to obtain a social security number.  Special agents of the Offices of Inspector General for the State Department and the Social Security Administration arrested the individual, who uses the name “Donald Gary Milne” and claims to be 45 years of age.  The Davidson County Sheriff David S. Grice assigned a detective to the investigation who assisted with the arrest. It should be noted that criminal charges are not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The arrest resulted from a new State Department OIG identity theft initiative, entitled Passport Sentinel, which enhances the Department’s passport issuance system.  It does so by determining whether individuals applying for U.S. passports used identity theft.   In essence, the initiative combats the subversion of the nation’s passport system by individuals, terrorists, and domestic/transnational criminal organizations. 

State Department Acting Inspector General Hume stated, “Identity theft successfully masks those who seek to harm U.S. interests, people, and facilities both domestic and foreign. Identity theft erodes public trust in its institutions, is global in reach, and could seriously undermine U.S. border security infrastructure through corruption of the U.S. passport issuance system.”

OIG formed a Passport Sentinel Alliance to ensure a comprehensive law enforcement approach to securing the nation’s borders through this initiative.  The Alliance consists of the State Department’s OIG and the Bureaus of Consular Affairs and of Diplomatic Security, the Department of Homeland Security’s OIG and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as several other federal and state law enforcement and licensing agencies.

OIG HOTLINE

202-647-3320                                                                          800-409-9926