Salvadoran National Indicted On Immigration And Voter Fraud Violations In East Texas

A 57-year-old Salvadoran national has been indicted on federal immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

Mario Obdulio Orellana was named in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 6, 2018, charging him with two counts of false representation of U.S. citizenship, false statement in an application for a passport, unauthorized use of a Social Security number, and voter fraud.  Orellana made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin on June 21, 2018.

According to the information presented in court, Orellana is alleged to have illegally entered the United States from El Salvador in the early 1980s. In 1987, while illegally residing in Shelby County, Texas, Orellana is alleged to have used falsified documents to obtain a birth certificate showing he was born in the United States; a passport as a U.S. citizen; and a social security number and register to vote as a U.S. citizen. Furthermore, Orellana is alleged to have fraudulently voted in the November 2016 election.

Under federal statutes, Orellana faces up to ten years in federal prison at sentencing.  The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Gaston.