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A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester on identity fraud charges and illegal reentry after deportation.
Pedro Wilson Hernandez-Castillo, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to seven years in prison. Hernandez-Castillo will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. On June 9, 2021, Hernandez-Castillo pleaded guilty to false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and unlawful reentry of a deported alien.
On June 15, 2020, Hernandez-Castillo was stopped by a state trooper while driving and asked to provide his identification. The defendant provided the driver’s license and Social Security card of another individual. After determining that the defendant provided false information, the trooper arrested Hernandez-Castillo.
Hernandez-Castillo illegally re-entered the United States after being deported in August 2018 following a conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. Hernandez-Castillo was removed from the United States on four previous occasions: December 1998, June 2000, August 2011 and August 2018. Hernandez-Castillo was previously convicted of unlawful reentry of a deported alien in 2013.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Todd Lyons, Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Boston; and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of Mendell’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.
