| MARYLAND MAN SENTENCED FOR PASSPORT FRAUD
AND AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT Baltimore, Maryland – A Gwynn Oak, Maryland, man received a federal-prison term today after pleading guilty to committing identity theft crimes. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Beautiful Life Allah aka "Tezelle Miller," aka "Tezell Miller," 66, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, to three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, false statements, and false representation of a social security number. Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea and sentence with David M. Richeson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) –Washington Field Office, and Michael McGill, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) – Philadelphia Field Division. According to court documents, Allah used someone else's social security number to submit a passport application; submitted a fraudulent custody order to apply for a passport for his minor child; and made false statements on passport applications from August 2022 through February 2023. In August 2020, Allah received a legal passport after he submitted an application. After he received his passport, law enforcement charged Allah with an unrelated criminal offense and issued a warrant for his arrest in Hampton County, Virginia. Law enforcement also listed the warrant in the National Crime Information Center. As a result, if Allah attempted to travel using the passport, he likely would have been arrested due to the outstanding warrant notification. Then in 2022, Allah started using the identity of Victim 1, an adult male incarcerated in New York. In August 2022, Allah used fraudulent loan documents, a fraudulent birth certificate, bank records, and a W-2 statement — that contained Victim 1's social security number — to apply for a driver's license at the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles. In February 2023, Allah continued using Victim 1's identification, as he submitted a fraudulent U.S. Passport application in the victim's name, along with a picture of himself. After Allah submitted the fraudulent application, DSS flagged the application due to fraud indicators. As a result, DSS, with assistance from the SSA-OIG, began investigating Allah. Through its investigation, law enforcement discovered that Allah submitted a second fraudulent passport application in the name of his minor son. In the application, Allah included a fraudulent New York custody order, falsely claiming he had full physical and legal custody of the minor child. But the child's biological mother had sole custody. U.S. Attorney Hayes commended DSS and SSA-OIG for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon who prosecuted the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. # # # |
