Man Admits to Creating False U.S. Passports and Mailing Them to New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. - A man formerly of Gwinnett County, Georgia and currently residing in Chicago, Illinois admitted to furnishing false U.S. passport cards through the mail, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Juma Wajid, a/k/a "Jay Khan" and "Jamal Anthony," 38, of Chicago, IL, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court today to an Information charging him with furnishing a false, forged, and counterfeit passport.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Wajid used an online account to send mailings that contained six or more fake U.S. passport cards and other identification documents that he created. In August 2024, law enforcement purchased five false U.S. Passport cards, as well as additional documents, from Wajid, who believed that the false documents that he created were going to be used to commit bank fraud. Wajid created the documents and mailed them to an address in New Jersey in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency.

The charge of furnishing a false passport to another person carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Wood; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; and officers of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, under the direction of Director Thomas Hauck, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor A. Chenoweth of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

26-222 ###

Defense counsel: Sanford Talkin, Esq.