A 24-year-old Venezuelan man posed as a teenage homeless migrant and forged documents to enroll at an Ohio high school, officials say
A 24-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly forging documents to enroll in an Ohio high school, where he studied for over a year before the identity fraud was discovered, authorities said.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra enrolled at Perrysburg High School in January 2024 with a Venezuelan birth certificate showing he was 16 years old, claiming he was a homeless migrant who had been trafficked into the country, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report.
Labrador Sierra started at the school and was eventually placed with a local family who had previously hosted exchange students, according to the police report.
The host family was granted temporary and later permanent guardianship of Labrador Sierra in 2024, and they helped him with obtaining a social security number and driver's license while he was in their custody, according to the police report.
He also used forged documents to obtain federal Temporary Protective Status (TPS) from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. Migrants under TPS humanitarian relief are protected from being removed from the country or detained based on their immigration status, and may obtain legal employment, according to the USCIS website.
Labrador Sierra's identity first came into question on May 14, when a woman contacted the guardian family and told them he was actually a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said.
She sent them several photos: a driver's license and social security card with Labrador Sierra's name and a March 27, 2001, birth date; and several from Facebook showing her and Labrador Sierra, along with Labrador Sierra with a child.
The guardians contacted the school district that evening, according to Perrysburg Schools.
Administrators met with Labrador Sierra the following day and 'he denied the allegation and asserted that the birth certificate submitted during enrollment - which indicates he is currently 17 years old - was accurate,' the school's statement says.
CNN has reached out to an attorney for Labrador Sierra for comment.
'Given the seriousness of the claim, Perrysburg Schools immediately directed the guardians to keep Labrador off school property while the matter was investigated further,' the school district said.
During the course of the investigation, the district said it 'found social media posts by others, including those claiming to be Labrador Sierra's family.' Police said those posts include several from a Zulay Sierra, whom they believe to be Labrador Sierra's mother based on the birth certificate he provided to the school district.
One of the posts she shared shows Labrador Sierra wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform with the caption 'Happy birthday son,' according to police. It was dated March 27 – matching the birth date on the picture of the driver's license that the woman had sent the guardians, according to the police report.
Police reached out to US Customs and Border Patrol and were told Labrador Sierra 'had an expired work visa and that he was considered an overstay in this country,' according to the police report.
CBP told police his visa had expired in 2023, the year he reached out to enroll in high school, police said.
The Perrysburg Township Police arrested Labrador Monday during a traffic stop on a forgery warrant. He was riding in the passenger seat of the car driven by the woman who had exposed his identity to his guardian family, according to the police report.
CNN has reached out to the guardian family and the woman who contacted them for comment.
Labrador Sierra was arraigned Tuesday, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to a forgery charge, a fifth-degree felony. His bond was set at $50,000, and his next court date is scheduled for May 29.
He may soon be facing federal charges as well, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
'Labrador is an illegal alien who overstayed his visa and has no legal status. US Border Patrol placed an immigration detainer on him with the local police department,' a CBP spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. 'Federal charges are being pursued.'
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement confirming Labrador Sierra is from Venezuela and calling his actions 'disturbing.' McLaughlin said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, also lodged a detainer against him.
The school district called the situation 'highly unusual,' but added that it 'is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor…'
CNN's Hanna Park contributed to this report.
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