A Guatemalan citizen living illegally in the United States has pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and making false statements. The charges are related to an attempt to sponsor an unaccompanied minor who entered the country without authorization.
Court documents state that Felix Coc Choc, 29, from Rogers, Arkansas, submitted a sponsorship application to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). In this application, he claimed under penalty of perjury to be the brother of a 16-year-old Guatemalan minor who had recently entered the United States. Coc Choc provided identification documents belonging to J.C.J., the actual brother, as part of his application.
After initially denying any wrongdoing, Coc Choc later admitted to using another person’s identity. He then filed a new sponsorship application using his real name. ORR denied both applications due to the fraudulent actions.
Coc Choc pleaded guilty to one count each of making a false statement and aggravated identity theft. He faces up to five years in prison for the false statement charge and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft. Sentencing will be determined at a later date by a federal district court judge, who will consider sentencing guidelines and other factors.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is leading the investigation. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) teams in Guatemala and Washington, D.C., along with ORR staff, have assisted in the case.
Joint Task Force Alpha attorneys Aaron Jennen and Nicole Lockhart, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Craig for the Middle District of Louisiana, are prosecuting this case. Samantha Usher from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas also contributed.
The prosecution is part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which focuses on investigating human smuggling and trafficking crimes connected with cartels and transnational criminal organizations across North America and beyond. JTFA brings together resources from several federal agencies including DHS, ICE/HSI, CBP/BP/OFO, FBI, and others. According to recent data, JTFA efforts have led to more than 440 arrests domestically and internationally involving leaders or facilitators of smuggling or trafficking networks; over 390 convictions; more than 330 significant jail sentences; and substantial asset forfeitures.
This case is also part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative that coordinates Justice Department resources against illegal immigration activities while targeting organized crime groups involved in drug enforcement operations.
“The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean, and the maritime border, and elsewhere,” according to officials involved in JTFA operations.
