Categories: Fulton Montgomery Schoharie, News

ALBANY — An Amsterdam man fraudulently applied for a passport with another person’s identity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.

Marvin Danilo Aquino, also known as Marvin Padilla, 23, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to making a false statement in a passport application and aggravated identity theft.

He admitted as part of the plea that he visited a U.S. Post Office in Gloversville in October 2017 and applied for a passport, officials said.

He filled out the application and provided a picture of himself, but he provided the name, social security number and other information of a different individual, officials said.

Aquino submitted a certified birth certificate of the other individual, a photo identification card from Amsterdam in the person’s name and a library card that listed a portion of the other person’s name, according to Aquino’s federal plea.

When passport officials asked for further information, Aquino in January 2018 submitted a state benefit card and health insurance card in the person’s name. Aquino withdrew his application in March 2018.

His plea agreement does not address why Aquino sought a passport under someone else’s name.

Aquino, however, previously used a different social security number for employment at an unnamed company in 2016 and 2017, his federal plea reads.

Aquino faces a minimum of two years in federal prison with a maximum sentence of up to 12 years. His final term is to be determined at his August sentencing.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Kinsella Kistler and Joshua R. Rosenthal prosecuted.

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