A Colombian national living in Jacksonville now faces a potential 22-year stay in federal prison after a decades-long scheme to live under a stolen American identity finally unraveled.
Carlos Felipe Jaramillo Grajales, 55, pleaded guilty this week to a laundry list of federal charges, including aggravated identity theft and lying about his citizenship to vote in U.S. elections.
The announcement, made by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, details an elaborate charade that began more than 20 years ago. According to court records, Jaramillo Grajales assumed the name, birth date, and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen to build a fraudulent life in Florida.
He used the stolen data to get a Florida driver’s license in March 2003 and managed to renew it multiple times, most recently in February 2024.
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The deception extended to international travel. In April 2003, Jaramillo Grajales applied for a U.S. passport using a Puerto Rican birth certificate belonging to the identity theft victim.
Because the documents were authentic—even if they didn’t belong to him—the government issued the passport. He successfully renewed that passport in both 2013 and 2023.
Beyond identification documents, federal prosecutors say Jaramillo Grajales used the stolen persona to influence the American democratic process. In 2010, he registered to vote in Florida by claiming he was a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico.
His registration was approved, and records show he cast ballots in several elections, including the high-stakes 2020 presidential election in Duval County.
The multi-agency investigation involved the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Jaramillo Grajales now awaits a sentencing date.
While he faces up to 22 years for the combined charges, the identity theft charge alone carries a mandatory minimum of two years in federal prison. Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier is leading the prosecution.
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