CEDAR RAPIDS – Abel Hernandez-Labra, age 43, from Hampton, Iowa, has been charged with passport fraud and false statements in a complaint filed on July 15, 2014, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Complaint alleges that Hernandez-Labra assumed the identity of a U.S. citizen by fraudulently obtaining the victim’s birth certificate. The Complaint also alleges the birth certificate, along with an Iowa driver’s license obtained by Hernandez-Labra in the victim’s name, was then used to apply for and receive a U.S. passport in 2008. The Complaint also alleges when confronted by investigating special agents, Hernandez-Labra completed a written sworn statement believed to contain several material false statements.
Hernandez-Labra appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Hernandez-Labra’s next appearance for a preliminary hearing is set for July 30, 2014, at 4:00 p.m.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rich Murphy and Daniel C. Tvedt and was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Chicago Field Office. DSS special agents were assisted in the arrest by officers of the Hampton Police Department, the Webster City Police Department, and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
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