Puerto Rico agents arrest local man posing as a US citizen

SAN JUAN.– A Dominican with an extensive criminal record was arrested Monday by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) attempting to illegally re-enter that country using a US passport.

Mr. Guillermo Julio Hernandez-Lopez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, made an initial appearance late yesterday before US District Court Magistrate Judge Marcos Lopez, facing criminal charges for attempting to re-enter the United States by fraud and using a united States Passport knowing it to be forged, counterfeited, altered, or falsely made, or to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud or unlawfully obtained.

Arriving at the Pan-American Dock on board the ferry Caribbean Fantasy, Mr. Hernandez-Lopez presented himself for CBP inspection as a citizen of the United States by the name of “Michael Lopez” using a United States Passport containing his own photo and claiming to be rightful owner.

CBP officers referred Mr. Hernandez-Lopez to secondary inspection where fingerprint database review revealed a match to the record of a previously deported aggravated felon by the name of Guillermo Julio Lopez, also known as Guillermo Julio Lopez, Guillermo Lopez Hernandez, Jose Martinez, and Jose Ramirez.

The individual was convicted of reentry of a Previously Deported Alien Based on Commission of an Aggravated Felony in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326 (b)(2), among other convictions relating to Drug trafficking and Identity Fraud, dating back to the 1970’s.

He had been ordered removed by an Immigration Judge on July 04, 2008 following a conviction for re-entry after deportation as an aggravated felon and was physically removed from the United States on July 29, 2008

CBP Enforcement Officers presented the case to the Immigration Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico for prosecution.

Special Assistant United States Attorney Kelley L. Tiffany will prosecute the case.