HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — An undocumented individual pleaded guilty today in connection with her fraudulent assumption of a United States citizen’s identity and her use of that identity to vote in multiple elections and obtain multiple United States passports, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Resident Agent in Charge Joseph R. Wysowaty of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Atlanta Resident Office.
Appearing today before U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke, Angelica Maria Francisco, 42, most recently of Russellville, pleaded guilty to two counts of false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, one count of false statements in application for a United States passport, five counts of use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to the plea agreement, Francisco assumed the identity of a United States citizen in or around 2011. Francisco used the false identity to obtain a United States passport in 2011. She subsequently used the United States passport to travel to and from her native country of Guatemala in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Using the same false identity, Francisco also registered to vote in Alabama in 2016 and voted in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections. And in 2021, Francisco used the same false identity to apply for and receive a renewed passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022.
Francisco’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 9, 2024.
The mandatory penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other prison term. The maximum penalty for false statements in application for a United States passport, use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and false claim of citizenship in connection with voting is ten years in prison, ten years in prison, and five years in prison, respectively.
DSS investigated the case with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the East Metro Area Crime Center, and the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Janich is prosecuting the case.
