Top US immigration lawyer jailed for four years after stealing immigrants' identities

Some of his victims still have no idea their identities have been used fraudulently, say prosecutors

A US Border Patrol agent stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence (Getty)

A top US immigration lawyer has been jailed for a concerted string of identity thefts that left victims "suffering in his wake".

Raphael Sanchez - who specialised in cases concerning trafficking and war crimes - had worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2001, latterly as its chief counsel in Seattle. It was there, from 2013 until October last year, that he used ICE databases and immigration files to obtain the personal information of the seven people, including their social security numbers, birth dates, phone numbers and addresses.

Sanchez then created counterfeit identity documents in their names, affixing his photograph to the ones with male names, and a photograph of a female murder victim whose image had been published in press accounts for the identity documents that had female names, prosecutors said. Three of the stolen identities were claimed as dependants by Sanchez in his tax returns.

Judge Robert Lasnik of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington handed Sanchez a four-year sentence, also ordering him to pay more than $190,000 (£140,000) in restitution costs.

“Raphael Sanchez was entrusted with overseeing the honest enforcement of our country’s immigration laws,” said John Cronan, the acting assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s criminal division.

Instead, Sanchez, a graduate of Penn State law school, “abused that trust, and capitalised on his position at ICE to exploit his victims and line his own pockets”, added Mr Cronan.

Sanchez’s lawyer, Cassandra Stamm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a sentencing memorandum filed last week, Ms Stamm said Sanchez admitted that he “abused a position of public trust” and defrauded people, including some who were “particularly vulnerable".

Some of the people have left the US and were not aware that debt balances were growing, prosecutors revealed.

“He left numerous victims to suffer in his wake,” AnnaLou Tirol, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section said. “More broadly, his greed may have diminished the public’s trust in the honest services of its government.”

“Sanchez sold his principles for profit,” Ms Tirol added.

The New York Times