Posts Tagged ‘passport fraud’

Counterfeit Passport Stamps Can Get You in Big Trouble: Rush Passport NYC

Friday, August 24th, 2012

Overstaying a visa is a serious offense.  The penalties can be harsh if you are caught overstaying a visa.  A man arrived in China on a multiple entry tourist visa that would allow him to stay in China for 90 days.  After 90 days he would need to leave and would be allowed to re-enter the country with his passport.

However, it turns out that the man never actually left.  Instead he used six counterfeit passport stamps to cover up the fact that he overstayed his visa for almost a full year.  The man was caught when he tried to board a flight to Hong Kong and it was discovered that his visa contained several counterfeit passport stamps.

If he had exited and re-entered the country as he was supposed to, then there would not have been a need to fake the passport stamps.  Counterfeit passport stamps can result in fines and arrest.  As it turns out, the man received a fine after it was determined that his actions didn’t produce any serious consequences.  Altering a US passport is a federal offense.

When it comes to passports and visas it is best to do everything by the book.  It doesn’t pay to try to commit passport fraud because eventually it will catch up with you.  In the United States, passport fraud is a serious offense and can result in jail time.

If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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US Passport Fraud Report: Operation Death Match

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Secure PassportThe US Department of State launched the “zero tolerance” passport program 4 years ago in an effort to combat passport fraud.  Passports are vital travel documents and the US Department of State puts forth great efforts to make sure that passport fraud is approached with a tough strategy. 

People wishing to obtain fraudulent passports sometimes use the names of people who are recently deceased – especially young children.  Several passport offenders have been caught this year thanks to the efforts of the US Department of State’s “Operation Death Match” passport initiative.

Passport fraud can happen in several ways.  Passport offenders often take the identity of others and use counterfeit government identification documents.

It is important for US passport holders to keep their US passports safe.  The most basic form of passport backup is to make photocopies of your passport before travel.  Leave one passport photocopy at home and take another passport photocopy with you on your trip.

If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.  Rush Passport™’s New York City passport agency is conveniently located at 875 6th Avenue, Suite #1606, New York, NY 10001.

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Passport Fraud Lands Alaska Police Officer in Hot Water: Rush Passport Blog

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

US PassportA US passport is a very powerful tool.  Many US citizens take getting a passport for granted.  According to the most recent studies, just 30% of US citizens hold valid passports.  Even though 70% of US citizens do not take advantage of getting a US passport, it seems that several people who are not US citizens have gotten US passports through fraudulent activities.  Most recently it was discovered that a well respected police officer in Alaska known as Rafael Espinoza held a fraudulent passport.

As it turns out, authorities discovered that the person posing as Rafael Espinoza was really Mexican citizen Rafael Mora-Lopez.  Mora-Lopez, as it turns out, was in the US illegally and he stole Espinoza’s identity.  By using Espinoza’s identity, he Mora-Lopez was able to get a US passport.

Mora-Lopez went on to become a respected police officer in Anchorage Alaska.  The passport fraud was discovered when Mora-Lopez applied for a passport renewal.  It was during the time that the passport agents were processing the passport renewal request that the passport fraud was discovered.

Mora-Lopez appeared in court in Anchorage and pled not guilty to the charge of passport fraud.  Passport fraud carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

It turns out that Mora-Lopez had been an Anchorage police officer for the past 6 years and his passport fraud had gone undetected.  The real Rafael Espinoza is a US citizen who is still living.

In the meantime, Mora-Lopez was released on $50,000 bond and he was ordered to home-confinement and electronic monitoring.

This particular passport fraud case has similarities to a 2007 case in which a Mexican citizen took his deceased cousin’s identity to become a US citizen.  He also became a police officer, but in Milwaukee.  The man who perpetrated the passport fraud in that case, Oscar Ayala-Cornejo, was deported back to Mexico.

Need a Passport?

If you are a US citizen and you need a US passport card or other passport services such as an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book or passport photos be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

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Passport Acceptance Facilities Closing Across the US: Rush Passport Is OPEN for Business in New York City!

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

US passportThe US State Department is doing is best to prevent passport fraud.  As a result, some passport acceptance facilities across the country will be closing.  Passport security is a very important area for the State Department to concentrate on.  In addition to passport offices and post offices, certain cities and towns have recorder’s offices that may also accept passport applications. 

However, in 2003 the US State Department, in an effort to maximize passport security stopped opening new facilities that could issue both birth certificates and passports.  The Hancock County Recorder’s Office in Iowa is one such example of an agency that issues birth certificates and passports.  In 2010, the US State Department announced that any existing offices that issue both birth certificates and passports would no longer be able to issue passports.

As a result, the Hancock County Recorder’s Office will no longer be able to issue passports.  The last day that the office can act as a passport facility is Friday, April 29, 2011.  The workers at the Hancock County Recorder’s Office feel that they should be able to continue issuing passports because there has never been an incident of passport fraud coming from their office.  They have received passport training and feel that it is a service to the community to offer passport services. 

The US Department of State feels that although there may have not been instances of passport fraud coming from the Hancock Recorder’s Office, they must adhere to the new regulations in the interest of passport security. 

Need a Passport?

If you need a US passport card or other passport services such as an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book or passport photos be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.

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US Department of State and Other Agencies Strive to Make the US Passport As Secure As Possible

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Passport fraud is becoming more and more of an issue in the United States.  The US Department of State is committed to making the US Passports the most secure passport in the world.  The Department of State adheres to strict guidelines when it comes the the US passport process.

Secure PassportA man residing in Connecticut, originally from the Dominican Republic was recently sentenced to over 1 year in prison after making a false application for a US Passport.  The man, Luis Ramon Francisco, a Dominican citizen used the identity of another individual when he applied for a US Passport at a US Post Office in Hartford, Connecticut.

Making a false passport application is a serious offense and presents a potential breach of US National Security.  When it comes to passport fraud, there are several agencies that are committed to enforcing passport laws and procedures.  The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Fraud Detection, National Security, the US Department of State and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security are all committed to keeping the passport application and passport issuance processes as secure as possible

If you are US citizen and you are interested in getting an expedited US Passport or if you are interested in getting a US Passport Card, visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent.  (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency.  Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida..

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Passport and Visa Fraud Sting Nets 107 Violators in Just 1 Week!

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Passport fraud is more prevalent than expected as evidenced by the results of “Operation Goalkeeper”; a recent passport initiative launched at US – Mexico borders.  During the weeklong passport sting, customs officers seized 107 fraudulently obtained / counterfeit passports and visas at the following five ports of entry: San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico and the Andrade border crossings.

Passport US Border

People are trying more and more creative ways to cross the US - Mexico Border.

Between June 7th and June 13th, “Operation Goalkeeper” targeted individuals attempting to present stolen, lost, counterfeit or altered passports to illegally enter the United States.

The passport security team consisted of officers from various agencies including the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Customs and Border Protection and the United States Attorney’s Office.

In all, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped 47 violators with counterfeit or altered passports and visas.  There were an additional 60 impostors who were carrying genuine passports that belonged to different people.

As a result of the passport sting operation, the United States Attorney’s Office is prosecuting a total of 39 cases of passport and visa fraud. Another 60 individuals were instead deported to Mexico and will never be eligible for lawful entry into the United States.  (That won’t prevent them from trying again when the security is not as tight.)

To me, it seems mind blowing that on a weekly basis they were able to catch over 100 perpetrators of passport fraud.  It makes one wonder how many violators were not caught, just how many individuals are here illegally and how many more will be crossing our borders without valid passports in the near future.  More importantly, what is the effect that this has on our society?

If you are interested in obtaining a valid US Passport or US Passport Card, contact Rush Passport™ (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 / New York Agency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and speak with a Live Agent or visit us online at http://www.rushpassport.com

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Passport Theft Suspect is Bulgarian Immigrant

Friday, June 11th, 2010
Passport Theft

Dotchin Krasev faces 10 years in prison for passport fraud.

According to federal officials, the former regional manager of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission in Bend, Oregon accused of getting an illegal passport by stealing the identity of an Ohio boy killed 28 years ago is actually a Bulgarian immigrant. 

This story raises the question about just how easy it is to get a falsified passport. 

The man, now known to be Doitchin Krasev, was brought to the United States in the early 1990’s by a former Reagan Administration official, Michael Horowitz and his wife. 

After meeting the child in Sofia, Bulgaria, Horowitz and his wife helped to bring Krasev into the United States and they became his host family.  They enrolled him in the prestigious Georgetown Day Prep School, where he graduated with honors.  Krasev secured a scholarship to Davidson College and was enrolled for two years before dropping out of school and later disappearing.

Horowitz and his wife hired detectives to try to locate him, but efforts proved fruitless.  It is assumed that he took on different identities while traveling state to state to avoid being found.

Upon arriving in Oregon, Krasev obtained a birth certificate and then submitted a passport application in the name of James Robert Evers, an Ohio boy who was kidnapped and murdered in 1982.

Krasev kept his true identity hidden from his co-workers an even his fiancé and was probably able to go undetected for so long because of his sharp intelligence.  While living in Oregon, he was an avid chess player with superior skill.

When caught, Krasev was officially charged with passport fraud and faces up to 10 years in prison.

If you need to get a real passport or get a passport card, feel free to call Rush Passport™ 24 hours a day / 7 days a week at Tri-State Area 212- 643-9305, Toll Free: 1-877-937-7277 or Nationwide: 1-877-937-8472.

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