Hazleton Man Sentenced To 24 Months’ Imprisonment For Identity Theft And Immigration Offenses

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Adrian Hernandez-Gutierrez, age 36, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, yesterday to 24 months’ imprisonment and a one year term of supervised release, for the crimes of Aggravated Identity Theft, Social Security Account Number Fraud and Illegal Reentry of a Removed Alien.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on March 4, 2021, Hernandez-Gutierrez, a previously deported alien, was arrested in Hazleton, PA.  Further investigation revealed that Hernandez-Gutierrez fraudulently used the identity of a United States citizen, including a counterfeit social security card, to obtain a Pennsylvania Driver’s License.  Hernandez-Gutierrez then went on to use the stolen identity and the fraudulently obtained ID card to cash thousands of dollars in checks, thereby assisting his employer, the owner of a Hazleton, PA-based roofing company, in maintaining an all cash payroll that, in turn, allowed his employer to avoid employment tax responsibilities.  The employer, Charles Ehrenberg of Ehrenberg Roofing and Construction, Inc., was separately prosecuted and has pleaded guilty to criminal tax violations.      

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and IRS-Criminal Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St. John prosecuted the case.

# # #