A Brockton man, Johnny Barros Brandao, faces up to 10 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of passport fraud, a crime he committed in a failed attempt to escape charges for two murders in Cabo Verde. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton has set the sentencing for January 9, 2025, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On trial for three days, Brandao was accused of claiming his U.S. passport was lost when, in fact, it was confiscated by the prosecutor’s office in Cabo Verde. This conviction on one count of passport fraud stems from Brandao misleading U.S. authorities in an attempt to re-enter the country, as detailed in the evidence presented in court. He was arrested back on May 9, 2023.
Records unveil Brãndao's past acts; in 2014, he shot an individual, robbed them of one and a half million Cape Verdean Escudos, and abandoned the body next to a waste dump in Cabo Verde. Seven years later, authorities allege that he committed another murder, depositing the victim's body at the same location. After his cab-driver-style arrest, Brandao's documents, including his U.S. passport, were seized to prevent his departure from Cabo Verde—only for him to apply for a replacement at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, falsely claiming it was lost.
Assistant United States Attorneys Meghan Cleary, David Tobin, and Brian Sullivan, who secured the date for Brandao's upcoming judgement, referred to the suspect's choice to lie and his flight to evade justice. "Johnny Barros Brandao was accused of two homicides in Cape Verde. Rather than facing those charges, he chose to lie to U.S. authorities in order to replace his confiscated passport and flee to America to evade justice," said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy in the press release. The intricate investigation involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Services was critical to Brandao’s capture.
According to Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the DSS Boston Field Office, the Diplomatic Security Service is committed to investigating crimes related to passport and visa fraud, recognizing the importance of a global effort to ensure individuals like Brandao do not evade justice.
