MIAMI – A Cuban citizen and high-ranking official in the
Cuban government living in Miami, Florida, was sentenced on September 27, 2019,
to six months in prison for making false statements in his application for
lawful permanent residence and for theft of government funds. The Court also
ordered the defendant to be deported to Cuba immediately upon completion of his
sentence.
U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District
of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro the of
the FBI’s Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Rodregas Owens from the Social
Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) made the
announcement.
Saul Santos Ferro, 74, previously pleaded guilty to one
count of making false statements in an immigration document and theft of
government funds (Case No. 18cr20982).
Santos was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the
Southern District of Florida who also ordered Santos to be removed to Cuba
immediately upon completion of his sentence and pay restitution in the amount
$12,522.28.
According to admissions in court documents, Santos made a
number of lies and misrepresentations in his application to register as a
permanent resident, which he knowingly presented to U.S. immigration
authorities, ultimately obtaining lawful permanent resident status. Specifically, when he applied to register as
a permanent resident, Santos failed to disclose his membership or affiliation
with any organization, falsely stated that he never served in or been a member
of a police unit and falsely stated that he never served in any situation that
involved detaining persons. In fact,
Santos served as a Major in the Cuban government’s Department of State Security
or Departamento de Seguridad del Estado (DSE) for decades and was involved in
arresting and detaining political dissidents in Cuba.
Additionally, Santos admitted that he falsely stated that he
never gave false or misleading information to any U.S. government official while
applying for any immigration benefit and falsely stated that he never lied to
U.S. immigration authorities to gain entry or admission into the United States
and to obtain immigration benefits. In
fact, Santos told a series of lies about his past employment with the DSE to
U.S. immigration authorities in the course of obtaining authority to enter the
United States on a visitor visa in 2010 and 2012.
Santos further admitted to receiving Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) benefits to which he was not entitled. SSI is a program funded by tax dollars and
administered by the Social Security Administration to provide the elderly and
people with disabilities with cash for basic needs including food, clothing and
shelter. Santos and his wife qualified
for and began receiving SSI benefits in September 2014, but by April 2015,
Santos and his wife misrepresented their living situation and began receiving
more money than they were entitled to receive.
Because of his misrepresentation, the Court held Santos responsible for
overpayments to him and his wife, which amounted to $28,491.83.
The FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland
Security Investigations and SSA-OIG, with support from the FBI’s International
Human Rights Unit, investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes of the Southern
District of Florida and Trial Attorney Rami S. Badawy of the Criminal
Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case,
with the support of historian Joanna Crandall.
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