Posed as an American for 20 Years... Man Arrested for Voter Fraud in Presidential Elections

Undocumented Colombian Registers as Voter
Obtains Passport and Driver’s License by Stealing Social Security Number
Caught Applying for Permanent Residency after Spouse's Naturalization

A Colombian man who forged his U.S. citizenship and illegally voted in presidential elections for over 20 years has been apprehended.

Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales. Photo by U.S. Department of Transportation

On August 14, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced via a press release that Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales, a Colombian national, was sentenced to three years in federal prison on August 12.

He obtained a U.S. passport by stealing the name, date of birth, and Social Security Number (SSN) of an American citizen. He then secured a Florida driver’s license, registered as a voter, and participated in several elections, including the 2020 U.S. presidential election. However, authorities did not disclose exactly when he began voting illegally or how many times he did so.

He also assisted his spouse in immigration fraud using the stolen identity. Jaramillo-Grajales married a woman who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in September 2003 while posing as a U.S. citizen. The woman acquired U.S. citizenship in August 2017, and the two reportedly divorced in January 2020, three years later.

Afterward, Jaramillo-Grajales returned to Colombia. His former wife reapplied for a fiancé visa using his real identity this time. Once the visa was approved, he reentered the United States under his actual name rather than the stolen one. With his identity issue resolved, the two remarried in June of last year, and Jaramillo-Grajales applied for permanent residency based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen spouse.

The decades-long identity theft and immigration fraud were uncovered during the review process for his permanent residency application. Jaramillo-Grajales admitted to charges including false statements on a U.S. passport application, fraudulent use of an SSN, and identity theft. The DHS stated it has not confirmed when or where he first entered the United States illegally. Upon completing his three-year sentence, he will be deported to his home country of Colombia.

Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security, stated, "Through a joint investigation with the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, we apprehended a criminal who illegally obtained a driver’s license and participated in elections by stealing someone’s identity. We will continue to respond firmly to protect the integrity of our elections."

According to DHS, last month in New Jersey, a Slovak national was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for illegally voting in the 2022 federal election. In Louisiana, an Australian citizen was arrested for unlawful voting in both the 2022 and 2024 elections. Previously, in April, a Mexican national was convicted in Kansas for posing as a U.S. citizen and voting illegally multiple times. In March, a Mauritanian national was arrested for illegally voting in seven federal elections since 2008.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.