In a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, previously convicted sex offender Carlos Fabian Velez has been sentenced for unlawful procurement of citizenship. The 54-year-old is currently serving a 210-month sentence for distributing child pornography—a sentence handed down in 2023. According to court proceedings, Velez was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Jason K. Pulliam and now faces mandatory denaturalization.
The charges against Velez stem from false statements made on his naturalization application, where he denied having committed a crime for which he was not arrested. The U.S. Attorney's office stated that Velez's distribution and receipt of child pornography occurred within five years of the said application, fundamentally breaching the good moral character required for naturalization.
“Obtaining American citizenship is the goal of so many who come to our great country, but we will do all we can to ensure those who commit crimes against children and then lie about it never receive the honor," U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas. "My office will continue to preserve and protect the sanctity of the naturalization process, and we will aggressively prosecute those who seek to abuse it."
The investigation that led to Velez's denaturalization involved multiple agencies, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, and servicing more than 17 years in prison, the Bexar County Sheriff’s. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fidel Esparza III and Tracy Thompson prosecuted this case.
