An Upper Marlboro man has been given a prison sentence for a scheme involving visa fraud after impersonating a Canadian citizen, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland said yesterday.
Douglas Anthony Eze, 55, was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison, plus three years of supervised release, and fined $20,000. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eze was involved in fraudulent activities dating back to his illegal entry into Canada in 1991 using a phony passport. After Canada issued a deportation order in 1995, Eze fled, resurfacing in the United States two years later under a stolen identity.
The court heard that Eze, who owned Largo Financial Services, leveraged the stolen identity to secure a green card unlawfully and later U.S. citizenship. The identity theft extended to applying for a U.S. passport, a driver's license, and even enrolling in the Global Entry Trusted Traveler Program. He went so far as to adopt and sponsor two children for permanent residence in the United States under the pretenses, with all documents falsely declaring the Canadian victim's identity as his own.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy from Homeland Security Investigations – Baltimore, and USCIS’s Washington District officials oversaw the sentencing. Hayes praised the investigation work done by HSI and USCIS. She also recognized the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen E. McGuinn and Reema Sood, who led the prosecution.
Legacy issues from Eze's fraudulent activities impact not only the victim but also the children he sponsored under a guise of deceit. The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office's community outreach page offers resources and further information on its efforts to combat such crimes.
