USCIS Assists in Investigation Leading to Arrest of Brazilian National for Selling Fake Social Security Cards and Green Cards

BOSTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services assisted in the investigation that led to the arrest of a Brazilian national for selling fake Social Security cards and Green Cards.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston announced that Liene Tavares DeBarros, Jr., was arrested for allegedly selling fraudulent Social Security cards and Legal Permanent Resident cards, often referred to as Green Cards. He is charged with one count of unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature.

According to the charging documents, Tavares DeBarros sold a Social Security number card and a Green Card to an undercover officer in October 2024 in exchange for $250. In December 2024, Tavares DeBarros allegedly sold two more Social Security cards and Green Cards to the undercover officer in exchange for $500.

The charge of unlawful transfer of document or authentication feature and unlawful production of document or authentication feature provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. A federal district court judge imposes sentences based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.