SEATTLE (AP) - The Latest on the former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle pleading guilty to federal charges (all times local):
11:10 a.m.
A lawyer for the former chief counsel of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle says her client is not offering any excuses for stealing the identities of immigrants.
Raphael Sanchez pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle on Thursday to charges that he stole immigrants’ identities and used them to defraud credit card companies and banks of more than $190,000. His lawyer, Casey Stamm, said in a written statement after the hearing that Sanchez is a “good person who has made serious mistakes.”
She added that he “does not offer excuses for his acts; rather, he simply provides his sincere and immense regret.”
Sanchez was taken into custody following the hearing. Prosecutors and Stamm agreed to recommend a four-year term when he’s sentenced May 11.
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10:45 a.m.
The former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he stole immigrants’ identities.
Raphael Sanchez resigned Monday, the same day prosecutors filed charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty Thursday at U.S. District Court in Seattle, acknowledging to the judge that his victims were vulnerable due to their immigration status.
Prosecutors say that beginning in 2013, the 44-year-old Sanchez stole the identities of seven people in various stages of immigration proceedings to defraud credit card companies to the tune of $190,000.
Prosecutors and Sanchez’s attorney have agreed to recommend a sentence of four years in prison, though that is not binding on the court.
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7:47 a.m.
The former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle is due in court to face charges that he stole immigrants’ identities.
Raphael Sanchez resigned Monday, the same day prosecutors filed charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He’s expected to enter a plea Thursday morning at federal court in Seattle.
Prosecutors say that since 2013, Sanchez stole the identities of seven people in various stages of immigration proceedings to defraud credit card companies.
Sanchez’s lawyer, Cassandra Stamm, has declined to comment about the case.
Sanchez is the second lawyer in ICE’s Seattle office to run into legal trouble in recent years. Jonathan Love pleaded guilty in 2016 to a charge that he forged documents in an effort to deprive an immigrant of the legal permanent resident status to which he was entitled.
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