Honduran Woman Charged with Identity Theft in Texas

HOUSTON - A two-count federal indictment has been returned charging Honduran national Glenda Yamileth Carranza-Gomez, 32, for falsely and willfully representing herself to be a citizen of the United States and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The indictment was returned Wednesday and Carranza-Gomez was taken into custody this afternoon.

She is expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks thus afternoon or tomorrow.

The indictment indicates that on March 26, 2008, Glenda Yamileth Carranza-Gomez presented a Texas identification card, Social Security number and date of birth of the victim, a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico, when applying for state benefits, not only holding herself out as being a citizen of the United States but using the identity of another person. Carranza-Gomez subsequently assumed the identify of this person dating back to 1998, and from this day forward, bearing two children and receiving government issued benefits under her assumed identity, according to the charges.   

The true person, whose identity was allegedly being used by Carranza-Gomez, was taken into custody for having outstanding traffic tickets for driving without a license and failure to maintain insurance. She consequently had to spend three days in a Houston jail as a result of these violations, allegedly caused by actions actually caused by Carranza-Gomez.

Carranza-Gomez faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction of the false citizenship claims as well as a possible mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for the identity theft charges, upon conviction.  

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Services, Homeland Security Investigations and the SSA-Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Elmilady is prosecuting the case.