Woman found guilty of using false ID to get passport in Norwalk

By Nancy Guenther Chapman

NORWALK, Conn. – A Jamaican woman has been found guilty of fraud and identity theft charges stemming in part from her application for a U.S. passport in Norwalk, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut David B. Fein said.

Tashiany Martin, 38, of Lawrenceville, Ga., a citizen of Jamaica, used a former friend’s identity to get a New York driver’s license and birth certificate in 2002, Fein said. She obtained a passport in 2002 by using that identity, Fein said, although he didn’t say where she got the passport.

In 2003 she used the friend’s identity to get a job as a licensed practical nurse at a Rochester, N.Y., nursing home, although she is not a nurse, Fein said.

In 2008 she used the driver’s license and birth certificate to apply for a passport at the Connecticut Passport Agency in Norwalk, Fein said. He didn’t say if she got the passport.

Martin was arrested on Jan. 17. She has been detained since then, Fein said.

On Thursday,  a federal jury in Bridgeport found Martin guilty of one count of making false statements in a passport application, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years imprisonment, Fein said.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 14 before United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton in Bridgeport.

This matter was investigated by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Kopel and Ray Miller.