Colombian National Pleads Guilty to Falsely Claiming to be U.S. Citizen

According to court documents, on December 8, 2021, Andres Bejarano, 33, presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers for inspection to board a flight from St. Croix to Florida with a Florida driver’s license. It was later determined that the license belonged to his brother, Daniel Bejarano, according to a release from U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands Gretchen Shappert. When questioned, the defendant reportedly falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. The release says he later admitted he took and used his brother’s identification, because he was aware that he had an active warrant for his arrest.

Bejarano is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.