CEDAR RAPIDS – A Mexican man who used a false identification document to obtain a job was sentenced today to more than three months in federal prison.
Charly Martinez-Hernandez, age 19, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and living in Cascade, Iowa, received the prison term after an February 20, 2019, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of an identification document.
At the guilty plea, Martinez-Hernandez admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card bearing an alias name when he completed an employment form at a business in Dyersville, Iowa, on August 20, 2018. The Social Security number was assigned to someone else. Martinez-Hernandez also used a fraudulent state of California identification card with the same alias name bearing his photo as part of the application process.
Martinez-Hernandez was admitted into the United States in April 2018 on a visitor visa with authorization to remain in the United States until October 14, 2108. Martinez-Hernandez overstayed his visa and failed to leave the United States as required. Martinez-Hernandez was found by immigration agents on December 29, 2018, after he was charged in Dubuque, Iowa, with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI). That charge is still pending.
Martinez-Hernandez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Martinez-Hernandez was sentenced to 106 days’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Martinez-Hernandez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.