Ukranian Man Who Posed As Student Pleads Guilty To Federal Passport And Social Security Fraud Charges

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Ukrainian man who posed as a high school student in Harrisburg and was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 25, 2016, for passport fraud and social security fraud plead guilty today to both charges before U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo in Harrisburg.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Artur Samarin, age 23, using the identity of Asher Potts, applied for a United States passport, was fraudulently issued a social security card on July 17, 2014 and, later applied for and received a replacement card on November 18, 2015.

This case was investigated by the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the City of Harrisburg Bureau of Police and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom. 

No date was set for sentencing. Samarin also recently pleaded guilty to a separate charge in state court in Dauphin County.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 15 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $500,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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