Miguel Dario Bautista Jimenez

Introduction

Miguel Dario Bautista Jimenez, a/k/a “Carlos Chapman Hernandez,” a/k/a “Carlos Hernandez,” 42, of Hoboken, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on October 14, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court to a two-count Indictment charging unlawful procurement of naturalization, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1425(b) and 2, and passport fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1542 and 2. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced the plea by the foreign national and convicted felon.

Background Information

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Bautista is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was removed from the United States in or around 2013 following a criminal conviction in New York for an aggravated felony. In or around June 2014 he re-entered the country using a false identity. He then applied for legal permanent residence and naturalization while falsely stating that his name was “Carlos Chapman Hernandez,” a person born in Cuba, and falsely stating that he had never been convicted of a crime, had never been removed from the United States, and had never been to prison.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Pleaded guilty. Bautista admitted the false-identity naturalization and passport fraud, each count carrying a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment.

The admitted scheme converted a 2013 removal — the government’s last word on his presence in the country — into a decade of residence under another man’s name. Using the fabricated Cuban-born identity, Bautista fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship documents through naturalization, including a U.S. passport, while concealing the aggravated-felony conviction, the removal, and the prison time that the application forms directly asked about. The passport is the component that matters beyond immigration enforcement: a genuine United States passport in a false identity is a travel and identity document that defeats the checks built to catch exactly this history.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Each count carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The investigation was credited to Homeland Security Investigations in Newark under Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General New York Field Division under Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service New York Field Office under Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Fanelli, and the FBI under Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Priscilla Gabela and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano of the Criminal Division are prosecuting.

Current Status

Bautista awaits sentencing before Judge Chesler following the October 14, 2026 plea, represented by defense counsel Carlos Diaz-Cobo, Esq. The guilty plea strips the “Carlos Chapman Hernandez” identity of its legal force: the naturalization obtained through it was procured unlawfully by admission, and the fraud counts to which he pleaded are the framework for whatever sentence follows. The case was announced within the Justice Department’s fraud-enforcement frame, alongside the April 7 creation of its National Fraud Enforcement Division supporting the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The citizenship Bautista admitted fraudulently obtaining is voidable at the government’s motion, and the passport issued under the false name is forfeit in practical terms the moment he is sentenced. A lawful permanent resident’s criminal history had already driven his 2013 removal; the admitted conduct after re-entry — re-arming himself with a fabricated identity, then using it to swear false statements on federal forms — forecloses any immigration status short of removal proceedings, now backed by felony convictions carrying up to 20 years combined. The case documents the full lifecycle of an identity fraud: removal, re-entry under a dead man’s facts, naturalization, passport, and federal prosecution.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, “Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Illegally Obtaining U.S. Citizenship and U.S. Passport” — source