Fair Oaks Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to Federal Agents Concerning Citizenship

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in San Antonio today, 30-year-old Pejman Amrollah Majdabadi, a Fair Oaks police officer, pleaded guilty to federal charges of making false statements to federal authorities concerning his citizenship.

Appearing before United States Chief District Judge Fred Biery, Amrollah pleaded guilty to four counts of making false statements to federal authorities. By pleading guilty, Amrollah admitted to being an Iranian citizen who falsely claimed to be a citizen of the United States in August 2006 while applying to be a contract linguist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and again in January 2010 while applying to become a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Amrollah also admitted that in September 2009 and again in December 2009, he made a false declaration on a Department of Homeland Security naturalization application stating that he had never previously claimed to be a U.S. citizen, either verbally or in written form.

Court records also reveal that Amrollah falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen when in 2002, he completed a basic detention officers course at the Concho Valley Law Enforcement Academy and was subsequently hired to be a jailer by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department. In 2004, Amrollah also provided false U.S. citizenship information during a basic peace officer course at San Antonio College Law Enforcement Academy. After completing the course, Amrollah was granted a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) Peace Officer License and was hired in November 2004 to be a police officer with the Fair Oaks Police Department. In order to become a TCLEOSE police officer, Amrollah was required to be a U.S. citizen, which he was not.

According to the factual basis filed in this case, in 1998, Amrollah—along with his mother, father, and younger sister—was apprehended for illegally crossing into the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas. In 1999, Amrollah was granted asylum status as a juvenile child of a parent claiming asylum. In 2004, Amrollah’s status was changed to legal permanent resident alien. On February 25, 2010, Amrollah became a U.S. citizen.

Amrollah faces up to five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine per count. Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2011, before Judge Biery.

The case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Roomberg is prosecuting the matter for the government.