Pennsylvania Woman Sentenced to Imprisonment for Passport Fraud

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Samirah Boksmati, 34, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $700 assessment by United States District Judge R. Barclay Surrick for four counts of making false statements in a passport application and three counts of using a passport secured by false statements.

Boksmati made multiple false representations to the U.S. State Department to secure United States passports for herself and her children and then used those passports obtained by fraud to travel abroad with two of her minor children. Boksmati acted with the intent to take all three of her children out of the United States, despite a family court order prohibiting her from taking her eldest child out of the country.

“Border and identification security are critically important to national security,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Obtaining a United States passport by fraud will not be tolerated, especially when that fraud is perpetrated in order to take a child out of the country in violation of a family court order. This sentence demonstrates that there are consequences to abusing the passport application process.”

“One of the core missions of Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is to protect the integrity of U.S. travel documents, which includes preventing the fraudulent acquisition and use of U.S. passports to facilitate parental child abductions,” Resident Agent in Charge R. Mike Escott of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service Philadelphia Resident Office. “DSS is grateful for today’s outcome and for the close partnership and support of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.