Man Who Fled Accusations of Human Rights Violations Sentenced for Visa Fraud, Perjury and Obstructing Immigration Proceedings

BOSTON, MA—A Brockton man who faces criminal charges of torture in Cape Verde, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court of making false statements, visa fraud, perjury and obstruction of administrative proceedings.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Investigations in Boston, James P. Ennis, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that CARLOS DE GRACA LOPES, age 46, of Cape Verde, was sentenced to three years incarceration by U.S. District Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf on seven counts of visa fraud, one count of false statements, four counts of perjury, and one count of obstruction of administrative proceedings.

The Government had previously represented that the evidence demonstrated that LOPES was accused by Cape Verdean authorities of allegedly committing torture and other criminal violations when he was the warden of a prison in Cape Verde. Shortly after he appeared before a Cape Verdean court where he had been ordered not to leave the country, in June 2006, LOPES applied for and obtained a non-immigrant tourist visa to enter the United States. After LOPES arrived in the United States, he took a job in Brockton, was discovered and put into immigration removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. During that process, in May 2007, LOPES applied to remain in the United States and filed a Form I-589 seeking to withhold removal, in which he once again denied that he had been accused of a crime in another country and made other false statements. In support of that application, LOPES testified falsely before an immigration judge, under oath, that, among other things, he had never been arrested, and had not been ordered to leave Cape Verde. All of these misrepresentations by LOPES were material to the administrative proceedings in which they were offered. LOPES obstructed those proceedings as a result of his misrepresentations to the Immigration Court.

“As evidenced by today’s sentence, the United States can aggressively advocate for the respect of human rights around the world, while at the same time pursue those who would undermine the integrity of our immigration policies by committing perjury to gain and maintain safe harbor in the United States,” said United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan.

“It is part of ICE’s mission to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system. Fugitives and those accused of human rights violations should know they will not be able to escape justice by hiding out in the United States,” said Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent-In-Charge of ICE’s Office of Investigations in Boston. “The United States is not a safe haven for those attempting to flee criminal accusations in their home countries.”

Chief Judge Wolf’s sentence followed the Government’s recommendation of an upward departure from the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Judge Wolf sentenced LOPES to three years’ imprisonment to run concurrent on the charges of conviction, to be followed by three years of supervised release, which would be administrative if LOPES is deported or removed from the United States.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Brockton Police Department and the New Bedford Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty of Sullivan’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.