JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for using a U.S. citizen’s identity to obtain government documents and vote in several elections.
Carlos Felipe Jaramillo Grajales, 55, is a Colombian citizen who used another person’s name, date of birth and Social Security number, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
A federal judge also issued an order directing that Jaramillo Grajales be removed to Colombia.
Jaramillo Grajales was convicted of making false statements on a U.S. passport application, aggravated identity theft, falsely claiming that a Social Security number had been assigned to him and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote.
According to court documents and information presented during sentencing, Jaramillo Grajales first obtained a driver license using the stolen identity in March 2003. He renewed it several times, most recently in February 2024.
In April 2003, prosecutors said he used a Puerto Rican birth certificate and the fraudulently obtained driver license to apply for a U.S. passport. He received the passport the following month and later renewed it in 2013 and 2023.
Jaramillo Grajales registered to vote in Florida in December 2010 by identifying himself as the U.S. citizen and claiming he was born in Puerto Rico, according to prosecutors.
The registration was approved, and federal officials said he voted in several elections, including the Nov. 3, 2020, election in Duval County.
Prosecutors said Jaramillo Grajales later traveled to Colombia under the false name. His former spouse subsequently filed a fiancé visa application for him under his real identity.
He returned to the United States, remarried his former spouse in June 2025 and applied for permanent residence based on the marriage, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.