A Mexican man living in Arizona has been indicted by a federal grand jury on suspicion of passport and visa fraud after an old obituary tipped off investigators to an alleged fake identity scheme.
Enrrique Ricardo Diaz Vazquez, 60, a Mexican national, was indicted on March 25, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona.
Diaz Vazquez is accused of using the identity of Gene Edward Katzorke, a 2-year-old who died in 1966. He used the dead child’s identity for decades, according to prosecutors.
He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
Diaz Vazquez first applied for an American passport in 1986.
He said he was born in Tucson and used an Arizona driver’s license and U.S. birth certificate to get the passport, according to the indictment.
More than 30 years later, the case was flagged when investigators found an obituary from the 1960s for Katzorke.
They also learned that Katzorke’s name was linked to Enrrique Ricardo Diaz Vazquez in a criminal databases, the release said.
Diaz Vazquez was arrested at the Western Passport Center in Tucson on March 7.
He’d gone to the center for a regularly scheduled passport appointment.
He was taken into custody after confirming that he applied for a renewal under Katzorke’s name.
Officials said Diaz Vazquez later revealed his real name during questioning after his arrest. He told investigators that he was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the release said.
Diaz Vazquez told investigators he wanted to join the military and took the dead child’s name after visiting a cemetery.
Diaz Vazquez successfully joined the military under Katzorke’s name, but then fled to Mexico after facing criminal charges for a homicide involving a 9-month-old in Tucson, officials said.
Diaz Vazquez was later deported from Mexico to the U.S. “under the belief that he was a U.S. citizen.”
He continued to live under Katzorke’s name up until his arrest, the release said.
In fact, Diaz Vazquez was even deported from Mexico to the U.S. decades ago because authorities there thought he was a U.S. citizen.
