Federal Judge Sentences Naturalized Citizen For Lying To Obtain U.S. Citizenship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today in federal court, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Herbert Leonel Diaz, 53, a naturalized citizen of the United States who was born in El Salvador and previously resided in Henderson, N.C., to serve eight months in prison for naturalization fraud, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell ordered Diaz’s federal sentence to be served concurrent with the 35-year prison term Diaz is currently serving in California for committing sexual offenses against a child.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Sean Ervin, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Division (ICE-ERO).

According to court documents, trial evidence, and witness testimony, from December 2003 to August 2006, while residing in Corona, California, Diaz committed numerous sexual offenses against a child. In August 2006, the victim reported Diaz’s crimes to law enforcement. The following day, Diaz fled California and moved to Henderson, N.C. In November 2010, while residing in Henderson, Diaz submitted an application for naturalization to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). Court documents show that Diaz lied on the application form by responding “No” to the question “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?” Diaz signed the form under penalty of perjury, and certified that his answers were true and correct. On March 2, 2011, Diaz appeared at the CIS office in Charlotte for a naturalization interview. During the interview, Diaz swore under oath that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested. On March 30, 2011, at the CIS office in Charlotte, Diaz participated in a naturalization ceremony and was granted U.S. citizenship.

In 2012, North Carolina law enforcement arrested Diaz on an outstanding warrant related to his sexual crimes against a child and he was extradited to California. In 2014, Diaz pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd acts with a child and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

In September 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell found Diaz guilty of naturalization fraud following a bench trial. The conviction for naturalization fraud will result in an automatic revocation of Diaz’s citizenship.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked ICE-ERO for their investigation of the case and credited Operation False Haven which led to Diaz’s conviction. False Haven is an initiative by ICE-ERO to identify convicted sex offenders and other egregious individuals who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.