Citizen Of Jamaica Sentenced To Federal Prison For Passport Fraud And Identity Theft Offenses

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TASHIANY MARTIN, 38, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport to two years and one day of imprisonment.  On December 20, 2012, a jury found MARTIN guilty of one count of making false statements in a passport application and one count of aggravated identity theft.

According to the evidence introduced during the trial, in 2002, MARTIN, a citizen of Jamaica, obtained a New York driver’s license and a New York birth certificate by using the name of a former friend.  In 2008, MARTIN used those documents to apply for a United States passport at the Connecticut Passport Agency in Norwalk.

The evidence at trial further revealed that MARTIN also used her friend’s identity in 2002 when she successfully applied for and obtained a U.S. passport and, in 2003, when she successfully applied for and obtained a job as a licensed practical nurse at a Rochester, N.Y. nursing home.  MARTIN’s friend was a licensed practical nurse, but MARTIN was not.

MARTIN has been detained since her arrest on January 17, 2012.  She faces deportation proceedings after she serves her prison term.

This matter was investigated by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Kopel and Ray Miller.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov