6-29-2018
SEATTLE, Wash. — A former chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for stealing the identities of people facing deportation and using them to run up bills totaling $190,000.
Raphael Sanchez resigned when he was charged in the four-year scheme in February.
He had overseen immigration proceedings in Alaska, Oregon and Washington since 2011 as the agency’s top lawyer in the region.
“Raphael Sanchez was entrusted with overseeing the honest enforcement of our country’s immigration laws,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Instead, Sanchez abused that trust, and capitalized on his position at ICE to exploit his victims and line his own pockets.”