David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian Wood, Special Agent in Charge, Diplomatic Security Service, New York Field Office, today announced that JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ, 46, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Waterbury, has been charged by indictment with passport fraud and identity theft offenses.As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in June 2025, an individual who had been recently released from prison (the “victim”) applied for a Connecticut identification card at the Waterbury branch of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”). When processing the victim’s application, the DMV determined that there was already an active driver’s license for the victim that had been issued in 2001 and renewed multiple times. An investigation determined that Rodriguez was the unlawful holder of the driver’s license and had assumed the victim’s identity.It is further alleged that on March 5, 2020, Rodriguez used the name, date of birth, and place of birth of the victim to apply for a U.S. passport in Waterbury.
He received the passport and used it for travel and identification purposes.Rodriguez was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on December 30, 2025, after he submitted the false passport to the U.S. Department of State and falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen.On January 13, 2025, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Rodriguez with one count of making a false statement in a passport application and one count of using a passport secured by a false statement, charges that carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count, and one count of aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years.Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S.
Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and pleaded not guilty to the charges.U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles and the Waterbury Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.