Colombian National Used Stolen Identity to Vote and Receive $400,000 in Federal Benefits

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obtained a Massachusetts Real ID and eight other state IDs.

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The prior affidavit described evidence that Defendant had unlawfully used the identity of a woman named E.C., a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico, for various purposes.

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How many Lina Marie's are there?

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After being confronted by law
enforcement as to her actual identity and later spotting them at her apartment complex, the
defendant delivered to a friend several bags, which contained over five hundred dollars in U.S.
and Colombian currency. When law enforcement attempted to execute an arrest warrant, the
defendant refused to open the door to her residence and held the lock to prevent the use of a key,
requiring law enforcement to breach her front and bedroom doors.

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Once inside, law enforcement
Case 1:25-cr-10045-PBS Document 25 Filed 04/02/25 Page 2 of 20
found the defendant fully dressed with shoes on next to an open window and screen in cold
weather, apparently attempting to flee from her first-floor unit. Law enforcement’s concerns of
flight were further heightened when the defendant asked immediately before her initial appearance
how long the battery on a monitoring bracelet lasted.

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On November 26, 2024, the defendant appeared in person at the U.S. Post Office in Jamaica
Plain, MA, and applied for a U.S. Passport Book. She represented on the application that her name
is E.C.,1 her date of birth (“DOB”) is XX/XX/1973, and her Social Security number (“SSN”) is
XXX-XX-6657. She further represented that she is a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico. The
defendant submitted a Massachusetts REAL ID card issued on April 16, 2024, in the E.C. identity
and a Puerto Rico birth certificate issued on November 29, 2022, in the E.C. name as proof of her
identity.

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Exhibit 2. The photo associated with the NIV resembled the individual purporting to
be E.C. in the U.S. passport application; however, the biographical information did not match.

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The NIV listed the following biographical information: Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez
(DOB: XX/XX/1966; Place of Birth: Colombia). A request was sent to the Overseas Criminal
Investigation Unit (“OCIU”) Bogota for any information available on Orovio-Hernandez. OCIU
Bogota provided a copy of a Colombian Identity Card (Cédula de Ciudadanía) (Exhibit 3),
containing fingerprints and a picture (below), as well as a Colombian birth certificate (Exhibit 4)
and criminal history record under the Orovio-Hernandez identity. Orovio-Hernandez was also
found to not have any lawful status in the United States.

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On December 23, 2024, Diplomatic Security Service (“DSS”) Special Agent Barbara
Robertson and another DSS agent conducted a voluntary recorded interview of the defendant at
the DSS Boston Field Office. The defendant claimed that she was E.C. and presented: a 2024
Massachusetts REAL ID and 2023 Massachusetts driver’s license in the E.C. identity; a Social
Security card issued in 2015 in the E.C. identity, and two Puerto Rico birth certificates from 2022
in the E.C. identity as proof. During the interview, the defendant admitted that she signed and
submitted the November 2024 U.S. passport application. She also admitted receiving housing
assistance since 2011 and obtaining a replacement SSN card in 2015—both under E.C.’s identity.
See infra. The defendant also consented to fingerprinting by DSS during the interview. The DSS
agents confronted the defendant regarding her actual Colombian identity, Orovio-Hernandez, but
the defendant maintained that she was E.C. and the interview was concluded.

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The defendant has used E.C.’s name, as well as her SSN (XXX-XX-6657) and DOB
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Case 1:25-cr-10045-PBS Document 25 Filed 04/02/25 Page 5 of 20
(XX/XX/1973), with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (“RMV”) on several occasions
to obtain the following: 4/16/2024 – REAL ID; 3/10/2023 – MA driver’s license; 1/16/2023 – MA
learner’s permit; 9/16/2016 – MA driver’s license; 8/21/2013 – MA driver’s license; 9/16/2011 -
MA driver’s license; 6/6/2007 – MA driver’s license; 8/24/2005 – MA learner’s permit; and
3/31/2004 – MA state ID card. All of these IDs bear the same number. The application for the
April 16, 2024 Real ID (Exhibit 6) is the subject of Count One of the indictment. Photographs of
the defendant were taken at the RMV and stored in the RMV database in connection with these
IDs

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