Fraud investigation into Venezuelan man accused of posing as teen at Ohio high school is ‘tip of the iceberg,' says police chief

Yahoo

22-05-2025

PERRYSBURG, Ohio (WJW) — Authorities investigating a 24-year-old non-citizen accused of posing as a teenager to enroll at an Ohio high school said what they've learned about the case so far appears to be 'just the tip of the iceberg.'
Perrysburg Police Chief Pat Jones told FOX 8 News on Wednesday that a big part of the department's investigation is now focused on interactions the man may have had with minor students while attending the school, where his alleged deception went undetected by local, state and federal agencies for more than a year and a half.
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'We're kind of taking a very deliberate deep dive into everything. This is a unique case. We haven't seen anything like this before,' Jones said.
'Obviously, one of our concerns is we have a 24-year-old man who is in school with teenagers. We're looking at what type of interactions were there and what type of relations were formed,' he continued. 'We're trying to talk to different students and see what information we have. There are a lot of rumors around, so we have to figure out what's fact or fiction.'
Federal immigration authorities and the FBI are now involved, as numerous questions abound, like how the man appears to have obtained two Ohio driver's licenses — one of a type given to residents under 18, and another given to adults, each with a different birth date, Jones said.
A state lawmaker who lives in the school district on Wednesday called it a 'deeply troubling breakdown of safeguards' against this kind of fraud. He said he's now seeking answers from state public safety and federal immigration officials.
Anthony E. Labrador Sierra, arrested by city police on Monday, is a 24-year-old Venezuelan national who's been in the United States illegally since March 24, 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department announced Wednesday that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has ordered him to be detained.
Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Tom Hosler, in a Wednesday update to district families, said Labrador Sierra 'went to extraordinary lengths to conceal his identity,' using forged documents to obtain an Ohio driver's license and a Social Security number and working with immigration attorneys to receive Temporary Protected Status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
A previous police report states his work visa expired in 2023. That's when he enrolled at Perrysburg High School, claiming to be homeless. The Wood County Juvenile Court placed him in guardianship with a local family.
Labrador Sierra worked with immigration attorneys to get Temporary Protected Status, which was granted through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Labrador Sierra reportedly told the school he had been a victim of human trafficking when enrolling at the high school, claiming to be a homeless 16-year-old.
'What's most heartbreaking is how our staff and community responded to a young person who said he was in need — with compassion. They believed they were helping a child who had suffered trauma,' Hosler wrote on Wednesday. 'That trust was broken — but how we responded says everything about who we are.'
Labrador Sierra was enrolled in the school district from Jan. 11, 2024, to May 14, 2025. That's when the school district began questioning the man's identity, after a woman contacted his guardian family, claiming he was not a teenager and was actually an adult and the father of her child, according to police.
School officials investigated social media posts from people claiming to be his family members. They then contacted Perrysburg police, leading to his arrest on Monday, May 19.
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Hosler said Wednesday that a decades-old federal law ensuring children experiencing homelessness are granted a public education requires schools to bypass the usual paperwork when enrolling unaccompanied minors, like Labrador Sierra claimed to be.
The district sought out his birth certificate, even though it wasn't required to, Hosler said. They also located his former school, which he claimed to have attended in Venezuela, and found it had closed.
'I want to emphasize this: Immediately upon learning that this student may have concealed his identity and misled us, we acted. We met with the student and he was then not permitted on any school property while we investigated. Very shortly after, we contacted law enforcement,' Hosler said.
'Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our students. When we learn of a concerning situation, we act.'
The school district has enrolled more than 100 international students over the last three years, said Hosler, and its cases are often complex. In Labrador Sierra's case, the district's attorneys assured school officials were following the law.
The man even played on the school's JV soccer and swim teams, according to the school district. That was reported to the Ohio High School Athletics Association.
In a statement to FOX 8 News on Wednesday, the association said the school 'had no way of knowing/combating this falsification.'
Labrador Sierra's birth certificate, now believed to be fake, is what landed him in the Wood County jail on Monday on a felony count of forgery, Jones said. But there's much more ground to cover in the criminal investigation, he said.
'We believe that's just the tip of the iceberg,' he said.
Jones added the police department hasn't received any direct reports of misconduct involving Labrador Sierra.
'I get goosebumps when I hear that my 16-year-old daughter could be in the same class as a 24-year-old man,' said immigration attorney Margaret Wong, speaking to FOX 8 News on Wednesday.
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State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg), who resides in the school district, said he's heard his neighbors' concerns and he now has several questions for state public safety and federal immigration officials.
'I'm asking myself what anyone else is asking: How did this happen?' Ghanbari told FOX 8 News by phone on Wednesday. 'I'm not laying the blame for this at the school — I'm saying this is a systematic failure at the state, local and federal levels.'
He said he penned a letter to Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson questioning procedures to verify documents used to obtain Ohio identification cards — particularly for non-citizens seeking asylum or Temporary Protected Status.
The department told him a response would be forthcoming, he said.
Ghanbari also said he wonders whether the federal government's new REAL IDs, which became required for air travel earlier this month, could also be spoofed in this way by fraudsters.
He issued a statement on Tuesday that read:
If these allegations are verified, they reveal a deeply troubling breakdown in safeguards — locally, statewide and federally. The ability of an adult to embed himself in a public high school, under false pretenses and with apparent access to official documentation and legal support, demands immediate and thorough scrutiny.
Let me be unequivocally clear: the safety and well-being of our students and the wider community is our top priority. I commend those who identified and reported this situation to school officials, and I applaud the swift, decisive actions taken by law enforcement to protect our students.
The Perrysburg School District should continue to cooperate fully with all relevant authorities and support the ongoing investigation in every way possible. Additionally, this requires a careful review of their internal protocols to take every necessary step to ensure our schools remain safe, secure, and worthy of the trust our families place in them.
Furthermore, I am calling upon federal immigration and law enforcement agencies to conduct a full and transparent investigation into how Mr. Labrador Sierra was able to enter the United States, acquire federal and state documentation, and gain access to public education under false pretenses. This case highlights a critical need for enhanced collaboration between local and federal law agencies to prevent similar incidents in the future and to ensure the integrity of our borders and our institutions.
State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg)
The school district has made counselors available to students who want to talk about the incident, said Hosler. The district also urged parents to speak with their children and encourage them to share their feelings about it.
Anyone with information regarding Labrador Sierra can call Perrysburg police at 419-872-8001.
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