Land O’ Lakes Man Pleads Guilty To Naturalization And Passport Fraud

Tampa, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jaiprakash Gulvady (51, Land O’ Lakes) today pleaded guilty to procuring citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, misusing evidence of citizenship or naturalization, and making false statements in a passport application and using a passport secured by false statements. Gulvady faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His conviction for unlawfully procuring citizenship or naturalization also results in the automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship at the time of sentencing. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court records, Gulvady, an Indian national, came to the United States in 2001 on a temporary business visa. In August 2008, less than two weeks after divorcing his wife, a U.S. citizen whom he had married the year before, Gulvady married another U.S. citizen. Based on that marriage, Gulvady was able to adjust status and became a lawful permanent resident in June 2009. Two months later, in August 2009, Gulvady traveled to India for the first time since he had arrived in 2001. While in India, Gulvady married an Indian woman before returning to the United States. On a subsequent visit to India, Gulvady and his Indian spouse conceived their first and only child, who was born in January 2011.

In August 2013, Gulvady’s marriage to his U.S. citizen wife was dissolved. The following year, Gulvady filed an Application for Naturalization in which he falsely stated under penalty of perjury that he was not currently married; that he did not have any children; and that he had never been married to more than one person at the same time. Based on that application, Gulvady became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August 2014. Using his fraudulently obtained Certificate of Naturalization as evidence of U.S. citizenship, Gulvady filed an application for a U.S. passport, in which he falsely omitted his Indian spouse. The Department of State issued Gulvady a U.S. passport, which he then used to reenter the United States on at least three occasions.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.