Dominican Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Reentering The United States After A Previous Deportation, And Other Charges

            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Gerpis Pena, of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously deported, misrepresenting a social security number, and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.  

            On November 5, 2015, Gerpis Pena appeared at the Manchester office of the Department of Motor Vehicles and attempted to obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license.  Gerpis had in his possession a birth certificate purportedly issued in Puerto Rico, a social security card, and a previously-issued New Hampshire driver’s license.  He had completed the forms necessary for issuance of a license in the name of the individual named in the identifying documents, including the social security number listed on the card he possessed, when he was approached by the New Hampshire State Police. 

            A New Hampshire State Trooper questioned Pena as to his identity.  Pena initially claimed to be a United States Citizen, born in Puerto Rico, and had filled out and signed a renewal application on which he had checked “yes” to the question “Are you a United States citizen?”  The Trooper contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) for assistance in identifying the defendant.     

            ICE-ERO Deportation Officers arrived at the DMV and, using a mobile fingerprinting kit, submitted the defendant’s fingerprints for comparison to databases of known fingerprints.  The fingerprint impressions were a match to those previously taken from the defendant.  

            Pena will be sentenced at 10:00 AM on August 1, 2016, and will be deported after serving his sentence.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega is prosecuting this case.

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