Brazilian National Charged With Using Fake Passport to Open Business Bank Accounts

BOSTON — A Brazilian national unlawfully present in the United States was charged June 1, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Boston with false use of a passport after he allegedly used the fake document to open and access multiple business bank accounts.

The defendant, who resided in Marlborough, Massachusetts, is accused of presenting the counterfeit passport as genuine identification to financial institutions. The single-count indictment cites 18 U.S.C. § 1546, which prohibits the knowing use of a forged, altered or falsely made passport.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The charging document identifies only the conduct and the defendant’s immigration status; it does not list specific banks, account numbers or dollar amounts obtained. Under the statute, conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, though actual sentences depend on sentencing guidelines that weigh factors including the defendant’s criminal history and the financial loss caused.

The case requires the banks that accepted the false passport to conduct retrospective customer due diligence reviews under Bank Secrecy Act rules. Those reviews must now be reported to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network if they reveal additional suspicious activity tied to the accounts.

The defendant’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 2026 in Boston federal court for arraignment.

This prosecution forms part of routine federal enforcement against document fraud used to access the U.S. financial system. The Department of Justice has brought similar false-passport cases in the District of Massachusetts in prior years, typically pairing immigration violations with financial fraud counts when defendants use counterfeit travel documents to open accounts or obtain credit.

The passport statute cited here was last significantly amended in 1996 as part of broader immigration and counterterrorism legislation.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice