Amsterdam Man Pleads Guilty to Passport Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Marvin Danilo Aquino a/k/a Marvin Padilla, age 23, of Amsterdam, New York, pled guilty on April 19 to making a false statement in a passport application and aggravated identity theft.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Timothy Dumas, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

As part of his plea, Aquino admitted that in October 2017, he visited a U.S. Post Office in Gloversville, New York, and filled out an application for a U.S. passport, which he then submitted with a picture of himself.  On his application, however, Aquino listed the name, social security number, birthdate, and other identifying information of another person who had not authorized Aquino to file the application.  In support of the application, Aquino also submitted numerous documents containing the same third party’s identifying information.    

Aquino faces at least 2 years and up to 12 years in prison, a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years, and a fine of up to $250,000, when United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino sentences him on August 12.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Kinsella Kistler and Joshua R. Rosenthal.