A Mexican citizen has been charged in federal court in Wichita with identity theft, and prosecutors say he is the man involved in a case that led to charges against a former immigration officer.
33-year-old Juan Tapia is charged with using another person’s Social Security number, aggravated identity theft and unlawful possession of a firearm by an alien illegally in the United States. If convicted, Tapia could face penalties of two to ten years on the three charges.
Prosecutors said Tapia is connected to the case involving former ICE agent Andrew Pleviak. They said Pleviak is accused of pretending to be an ICE supervisor in September, when he tried to have Tapia released from the Kingman County jail. Pleviak was indicted on October 9th and he is awaiting trial.
