Guatemalan man living in Clarion used someone else’s identity

Rodriguez-Barrios tried to get work in Clarion, Forest City, wife collected food stamps, other benefits unlawfully

CLARION -- A Guatemalan man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for using another person's name and social security number to get jobs in Iowa.

Melvin Rodriguez-Barrios, 44, of Clarion, was convicted of three counts of unlawful use of an identification document and four counts of misuse of a social security number at a bench trial Jan. 2.

According to the United States attorney's office, Northern District of Iowa, evidence showed that on four dates between 2014 and 2016, Rodriguez-Barrios used another person's name and social security number on employment and tax documents when applying for work in Clarion and Forest City.

Additionally, Rodriguez-Barrios, who the U.S. attorney's office said is living illegally in the United States, used a fraudulent Missouri state identification card and claimed that he was an American citizen.

He had also been a fugitive wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being ordered deployed from the U.S. in August 2011.

The U.S. attorney's office said that Rodriguez-Barrios' wife, Cleotilde Puac-Gomez, who is also in the country illegally, was collecting food stamps and other benefits by not disclosing her husband's income earned under the stolen identity.

She has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and is awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the federal Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Investigation Division -- Economic Fraud Control Bureau.