Dominican Doctor and Assistant Sentenced for Conspiring to Alter Fingerprints of Criminal Aliens

BOSTON – A Dominican doctor and his assistant were sentenced today for their roles in altering the fingerprints of illegal aliens through a surgical process.

 Danilo Ramon Martinez, 61, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $5,000.  Martinez’s assistant, Teresa Araujo Ramirez, 40, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and three years of supervised release.  It is anticipated that, upon completion of their sentences, Martinez and Ramirez will be deported to the Dominican Republic.  In December 2013, Ramon Martinez and Araujo Ramirez were indicted for conspiring to harbor illegal aliens by altering their fingerprints and to distribute controlled substances.

 Martinez, a licensed medical doctor in the Dominican Republic, performed surgery that altered the fingerprints of aliens illegally in the United States, thereby assisting in the concealment of their true identities and criminal histories.  Ramirez charged $4,000 for this service.  Araujo Ramirez assisted and supplied pain medications, including Oxycodone and other controlled substances, to the patients following the procedures. 
 
 United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.