Illegal immigrant from Honduras pleads guilty to reentering the country and stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An illegal immigrant from Honduras pled guilty today to aggravated identity theft and reentering the United States following a previous removal. Carlos Alexis Chavez-Paz was sentenced to two years and one day in prison and remains subject to the previous order of removal. According to court documents, Chavez-Paz has illegally entered or reentered the United States four times and has been deported on three previous occasions. On Jan. 10, 2025, at a DMV customer service center in Stafford County, Carlos Alexis Chavez-Paz presented an authentic Kentucky driver’s license bearing a picture that appeared to be Chavez-Paz, but with the name of another person. Chavez-Paz also presented a counterfeit Puerto Rican birth certificate, a counterfeit Social Security card, and mail in the in the identity theft victim’s name. The Social Security card contained the victim’s Social Security number. He presented the documents in support of an application for a Virginia driver’s license in the victim’s name in an effort to evade detection by immigration authorities. Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Eitzen is prosecuting the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-CR-100.