Former ICE Chief Counsel Gets 4 Years In Prison For Stealing Immigrants' Identities
Former ICE Chief Counsel Gets 4 Years In Prison For Stealing Immigrants' Identities
June 28, 201810:16 AM ET
A former top attorney at ICE in Washington state has pleaded guilty to stealing the personal information of immigrants who were at risk of deportation and using the data to defraud banks. Here, protesters stand outside the ICE office in Seattle during a demonstration in May.
Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET
Raphael A. Sanchez, who was chief counsel at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Seattle when he opened credit cards and took out loans using the personal information of vulnerable immigrants, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
He took a plea deal with the Justice Department, which was approved by a judge on Thursday. He has also been ordered to pay more than $190,000 in restitution.
Sanchez — whose responsibilities included overseeing immigration removal cases in several states — stole and exploited the identities of people who prosecutors say were "particularly vulnerable given their status as deported or otherwise excludable."
He also misreported his earnings in his IRS filings. And, the Justice Department said, Sanchez "claimed three aliens as relative dependents on his tax returns for 2014 through 2016."
Sanchez, 44, pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea, he also signed a statement of fact acknowledging his actions.
That plea came just days after Sanchez resigned in the face of the charges against him.
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