Updated
Updated · WFTV Orlando · May 14
Maradiaga-Flores Gets 26 Months for Identity Theft and False U.S. Citizenship Claim
Updated
Updated · WFTV Orlando · May 14

Maradiaga-Flores Gets 26 Months for Identity Theft and False U.S. Citizenship Claim

1 articles · Updated · WFTV Orlando · May 14

Summary

  • A federal judge in Tampa sentenced Nidia Roxana Maradiaga-Flores, 28, to 26 months in prison after her Jan. 14 conviction on aggravated identity theft and related fraud charges.
  • Prosecutors said she sought a job in Pinellas County on March 23, 2022, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on an I-9 form and used another person's identifying information.
  • Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture II used E-Verify, and investigators said Maradiaga-Flores bypassed that employment-check system with the stolen identity data.
  • Authorities said the Honduran national had no lawful U.S. status; Homeland Security Investigations led a multiagency probe involving federal and Florida law-enforcement offices.

Insights

What deeper issues in the U.S. employment system drive individuals to commit identity fraud for work eligibility?
Could stricter I-9 enforcement unintentionally worsen labor shortages or push more undocumented employment underground?
How do rising penalties for I-9 violations impact construction companies already struggling with severe labor shortages in 2026?