2-Year Sentence In ID Theft CaseUS Department of JusticeDenver, CO October 3, 2007 Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney District of Colorado Colorado Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Aggravated Identity Theft In Connection to Fraudulently Obtained Passport Moussa Bitar, age 28 of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced to 24 months (two years) in federal prison this morning by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane, for aggravated identity theft for obtaining a false passport and false use of a Social Security account number, according to U.S. Attorney Troy A. Eid, U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Services Special Agent in Charge Patrick Durkin, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Garrity, Jr. Bitar was first taken into custody by the Aurora Police Department following traffic related offenses. Bitar was then charged federally by criminal complaint on Feb. 9, 2007. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on May 23, 2007. He pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Kane on July 20, 2007. According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on Oct. 13, 2006, the defendant represented himself to be Sergio Armando Soto on a passport application he presented to the U.S. State Department, using a copy of a Michigan Driver's License and a Texas birth certificate as forms of identification. The defendant submitted the Passport Application to a Post Office in Denver. On Dec. 7, 2006, the State Department issued a passport to the defendant in the name of Sergio Armando Soto. On Feb. 9, 2007, the defendant was stopped for traffic violations by the Aurora Police Department. During the stop, the defendant presented the passport as identification. After his arrest, a fingerprint check revealed the defendant's identity was Moussa Bitar. Subsequent investigation conducted by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and the FBI revealed that Bitar altered a Michigan Driver's License to show that his name was Sergio Armando Soto. Further, DSS agents determined that Bitar obtained a Texas birth certificate in the name of Sergio Armando Soto to illegally obtain the passport. Soto was born in El Paso, Texas in 1978. The investigation also revealed that Sergio Armando Soto died in California in 1995. "Steal someone's identity and you may well go to prison," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. "Passport fraud potentially threatens the national security of the United States. The U.S. passport and visa are two of the most coveted travel documents in the world, and individuals like Bitar who have acquired a passport fraudulently could perpetrate further illegal acts to include terrorism. These crimes make the United States more vulnerable to terrorism, plain and simple," said Patrick Durkin, Special Agent in Charge of the Diplomatic Security Service's San Francisco Office. "This has been a collaborative effort with the State Department and the Aurora Police Department to further the fight against identity theft," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Garrity, Jr. "Individuals engaged in this activity will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible." The Bitar case was investigated by the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Aurora Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Brown. Contact: |
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