Washington.- The United States Department of Justice reported this Monday that it filed citizenship revocation lawsuits against 17 naturalized individuals, accused of having obtained that status fraudulently by hiding criminal records or providing false information during their naturalization processes.
Among those identified is the 54-year-old Dominican Federico Michel Fermín, who, according to U.S. authorities, allegedly lied under oath to obtain citizenship.
According to the indictment, between September 2004 and August 2005, Fermín conspired with other individuals to distribute more than $1.7 million in wholesale prescription drugs without having the appropriate license.
The file indicates that, as part of the scheme, the packaging of the medications was altered to make it appear that they had been purchased from authorized distributors before being sold to pharmacies.
A federal jury found him guilty on May 12, 2011, of conspiracy to distribute prescription drugs wholesale without a license, a crime for which he was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
However, according to the Department of Justice, during his naturalization process Fermín declared under penalty of perjury that he had never committed crimes for which he had not been arrested, a statement he reiterated during his citizenship interview.
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The authorities maintain that those statements were false and constitute the basis for the legal action to revoke his U.S. citizenship.
Another case involves a Haitian citizen
Among the group of people included in the lawsuits is also Jean Claude Alfred, a 68-year-old Haitian citizen, who was convicted of sexual assault against a minor.
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The Department of Justice recalled that, in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, the citizenship of a naturalized person can be revoked when it is proven that it was obtained illegally or through the concealment of relevant facts or intentional false statements.
The actions are part of a strategy by federal authorities to review cases in which naturalized citizens may have concealed information related to serious crimes during the process of obtaining U.S. citizenship.
