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Monday, March 24, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi
GULFPORT – A Honduran national sentenced to “49 months” imprisonment for the federal felony offense of Knowing Possession Without Authority of a Means of Identification of Another Person in Connection with Violation of Federal Law. According to court documents, Wilmer Alexander Montufar, age 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Taylor B. McNeel in Gulfport. Additionally, Montufar, who also is known by the name of Wilmer Montuvar-Martinez, was sentenced to three years of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence.
Federal law provides for Montufar to face U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removal proceedings. Montufar previously had been lawfully removed from the United States to his home nation of Honduras. After removal from the U.S., his supervised release period will be non-reporting while he remains outside of the United States. However, if he unlawfully returns to the U.S., Montufar could face separate, consecutive penalties in addition to further prosecution. He was convicted after pleading guilty on October 17, 2024.
On May 6, 2024, a Mississippi law enforcement officer observed a vehicle driving northbound on Interstate 59. The Officer observed the vehicle traveling in the left lane and impeding traffic. The Officer conducted a traffic stop on I-59 eastbound at about Mile Marker 31 in Pearl River County. The Officer observed that there were two people inside. The driver was identified by his Honduran passport as Wilmer Alexander Montufar, a citizen of Honduras, and the defendant in this case. The front seat passenger was identified as a 16-year-old female juvenile Honduran citizen. Both Montufar and the juvenile indicated that they could not speak English.
A Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office Deputy responded to the traffic stop location to provide translation. The juvenile initially said she was a friend of Montufar but did not know where they were going in Mississippi. Montufar was arrested and taken into custody for violations of Mississippi state law for driving without a driver’s license and traveling in the left lane. Montufar and the juvenile were transported to the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office and, later, the juvenile was turned over to Mississippi Child Protective Services. Pearl River County officials interviewed Montufar which was video recorded. Montufar admitted to bringing the juvenile from Honduras into the U.S. and said he and the juvenile female were in a relationship, and that he was aware that she was sixteen years old. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrived at the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office, and transported Montufar to the U.S. Border Patrol Station.
At the Border Patrol Station in Gulfport, databases confirmed Montufar had been ordered removed from the U.S. on four occasions. Montufar was removed from the U.S. to Honduras, in or about 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2018. Databases also revealed Montufar had not received permission to apply for readmission to the US from either the Attorney General or the DHS Secretary. Montufar was read his Miranda rights in Spanish and waived his rights verbally and by signing a waiver form in Spanish. He agreed to speak with law enforcement officials in a video-recorded interview, and he admitted to unlawfully entering McAllen, Texas, from Reynosa, Mexico, in about 2022.
Montufar also consented verbally and in writing to allowing HSI agents to forensically examine his cellular phone. On-site previews of data extracted from the device revealed about four images of what purported to be a Texas (TX) identification (ID) card bearing Montufar’s image and the name: J.L.T. (represented by initials) about five images of what purported to be Social Security Administration (SSA) cards – four with the name: J.L.T. and one with the name J.L.C., and two images of Montufar’s Honduran ID card bearing Montufar’s image and his official name.
When asked about the purported Texas identification card and Social Security cards, Montufar said he purchased the documents for about $800.00 and had been using them for employment purposes. He acknowledged that the documents were false and that he knew they were not issued by a government agency and that he had been using them for his own employment.
A lawful Social Security Card shows that the holder may lawfully work in the U.S. Illegal aliens sometimes pay higher amounts (such as $800) for unlawful identification documents with identity information of a real person so documents appear real when employers report to federal and state officials for Social Security, income tax withholding and other purposes.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon, praised the investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol, as well as the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Mississippi Child Protective Services and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Lemon and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Adam M. Calderon, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris prosecuted the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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