A Mexican national, German Madrigal, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after being convicted of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship while applying for a passport at a Gainesville, Georgia post office. According to prosecutors, Madrigal used a fraudulent California birth certificate and a Georgia driver’s license in his application on December 9, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg commented on the sentencing: “Because Madrigal lied about his foreign citizenship and used a fake birth certificate to try to obtain a U.S. passport, his next trip will be to a federal prison,” Hertzberg said. “Madrigal’s sentence sends a message to those who would use fraudulent identity documents to conceal their nationality: you will be caught, prosecuted, and punished.”
Gregory Batman, Acting Director of Diplomatic Security Service Domestic Operations, emphasized the risks associated with such crimes: “The Diplomatic Security Service is committed to investigating and pursuing anyone who applies for or obtains a United States passport using false documents,” Batman stated. “The U.S. passport is the most coveted travel document in the world. There are foreign nationals who attempt to fraudulently acquire U.S. passports to carry out criminal activities, including terrorism, inside our borders. These crimes threaten the national security of the United States.”
Court records show that Madrigal was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1976 and entered the United States illegally as an infant with his parents. In the 1990s, he moved with his family to Hall County, Georgia where he was later arrested for statutory rape and drug trafficking offenses. At those times he reported Jalisco as his place of birth.
Prosecutors said that Madrigal had previously used the same fraudulent birth record during deportation proceedings in 2010.
Following a two-day jury trial on April 29, 2025, Madrigal was convicted of passport fraud charges. On July 29, 2025, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced him not only to prison but also three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Pearce.
Further information can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.