Guatemala man residing in Belmond sent to prison for document fraud

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Guatemala man residing in Belmond has been sentenced to almost three months in federal prison for document fraud.

27-year-old Rodolfo Duran-Matul was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty in October to one count of unlawful possession of an identification document.

The US Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa’s office says Duran-Matul admitted during a plea hearing that he had previously been deported from the United States in August 2018 and illegally re-entered the US without permission.

Duran-Matul also admitted that in August of this year, when he was arrested on state charges, he possessed a fraudulent permanent resident card bearing his name and photo. The number on the “green card” was assigned to someone else.

US District Court Chief Judge C. J. Williams sentenced Duran-Matul on Wednesday to 85 days in prison to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

Duran-Matul is being held in the custody of the US Marshal until he can be turned over to immigration officials.