Guatemalan Woman Pleads Guilty in Federal Court in Louisiana for Illegally Using Social Security Number to Obtain Employment

Louisiana – A native of Guatemala has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Louisiana and was sentenced for illegally using a social security number to qualify for employment.

On Friday, January 13, 2023, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Claudia Camey De Perez, a native of Guatemala, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Louisiana and was sentenced on January 12, 2023, by Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to one year probation and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for illegally using a social security number to qualify for employment, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 408(a)(7)(B).

According to court records, Homeland Security Investigations obtained evidence on March 29, 2022, that certain individuals had used fraudulent Social Security cards in an initial application for employment. Prior to beginning work with their prospective firm, the people were required to report to the Gulf Coast Safety Council, which offers safety courses to candidates seeking jobs with companies that service petrochemical processing plants. Camey De Perez arrived at the Gulf Coast Safety Council office in St. Rose, Louisiana on March 30, 2022, to finish the safety training and confirm her employment with Company “A.” Camey De Perez produced a fraudulent United States Social Security card carrying the name and Social Security number of a United States citizen, which he represented to be her own, on that day in order to gain employment.

U.S. Attorney Evans applauded Homeland Security Investigations’ work in investigating this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis.