Georgia Man Sentenced for Two Counts of Making False Statements

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –  Anastasios Katzopoulos a/k/a Anastasios Alexander Hatzopoulos,  38, of Rising Fawn, Georgia, and formerly of North Syracuse, New York, was sentenced yesterday to time served, following two months of incarceration, after pleading guilty to making false statements in a passport application and making false statements to the Social Security Administration.  The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and John Grasso, Special Agent in Charge for the New York Field Division of the United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General.

As part of his guilty plea Katzopoulos admitted that he was issued a social security number in 1993 and a United States passport in 2002.  He further admitted that in June 2012, while living in North Syracuse, New York, he applied for and was issued a new social security number after stating that he had never previously been issued a social security number.  The following month, Katzopoulos used the second social security number to apply for a United States passport, falsely stating that he had never previously applied for or been issued a United States passport. 

In August 2016, Katzopoulos pled guilty before United States District Judge David N. Hurd.  In addition to the two-month period of incarceration already served, Katzopoulos was sentenced to a term of supervised release for three (3) years, to complete eighty (80) hours of community service, and to pay a fine in the amount of $10,000.   

This case was investigated by the United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carina H. Schoenberger and Sahar L. Amandolare.