Irish National Sentenced, Faces Deportation Proceedings for Falsely Representing U.S. Citizenship

 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Denis Quirke, 37, an Irish national, will be turned over to immigration officials for deportation proceedings after being sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to time served in federal prison for falsely representing to the government that he was a U.S. citizen when he applied for a Rhode Island identification card from the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles in December 2011. Quirke has been detained in federal custody since his arrest on August 31, 2012.

 Quirke’s sentence was announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Todd Ziccarelli, Special Agent in Charge of the New England Field Office of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; and Scott E. Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.

 On October 19, 2102, Quirke pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count each of false claim to United States citizenship and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. He admitted to the court that he misrepresented U.S. citizenship to the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles when he presented the Social Security number of another person as proof of U.S. citizenship in an effort to gain a Rhode Island identification card.

 The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; and Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.

 The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard W. Rose and Zechariah Chafee.