JOUSUEA JAMES WILLIAMS, 37, formerly of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, was sentenced last week to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for aggravated identity theft and passport fraud. WILLIAMS was arrested in September 2010, after attempting to obtain a passport in a false name in Bellingham, Washington. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman imposed the sentence.

According to records filed in the case, WILLIAMS was convicted of bank fraud in Oregon in 2007. WILLIAMS was released from federal custody in 2009, and was required to pay about $30,000 in restitution. WILLIAMS absconded from the work release center where he was sent following his prison term and traveled from Oregon to Colorado and Nevada. In Colorado WILLIAMS stole the personal identifying information of someone he worked with. Using that information, WILLIAMS tried to get a passport, so he could flee to Canada, knowing that there was a warrant out for his arrest. WILLIAMS was turned away from the border because he did not have proper identification.

WILLIAMS pleaded guilty in March 2011.

“The Diplomatic Security Service is committed to investigating and pursuing anyone who applies for or obtains a United States passport using false identification documents. The U.S. passport and visa are two of the most coveted travel documents in the world,” said Patrick Durkin, Special Agent in Charge of the Diplomatic Security Service San Francisco Field Office.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth. Ms. Ellsworth is an attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) specially designated to prosecute cases in federal court.

 

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