Romanian Man Pleads Guilty To Possession Of A False Passport

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Alin Madalin Munteanu, 37, of Romania, pleaded guilty, before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, to using a false passport. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that on August 12, 2017, in the Town of Webster, NY, Munteanu was encountered by local police and asked for identification. The defendant provided a forged Hungarian passport that had been issued to someone else but had been altered to include Munteanu’s photograph.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, under the direction of Charles Brandeis, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office; Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Webster Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Rieger.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. before Chief Judge Geraci.