On Tuesday, June 10th, the U.S. Department of Justice released a press statement indicating that a South Korean woman had lied during her application for U.S. citizenship, illegally obtaining American citizenship. This woman has since been indicted by the Department of Justice.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson, 50-year-old Yeon Sook Hwang, also known as “Jackie” (referred to as Hwang), was charged on June 5, 2025, for illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship, violating Title 18, Section 1425(b) of the U.S. Code.
The indictment states that in 2015, Hwang made false statements on her naturalization application submitted in the Eastern District of Louisiana, claiming she had no prior criminal record when in fact she did. If convicted, Hwang could face up to ten years in prison, a maximum of three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
Simpson reiterated that an indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
He also praised the efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. from the General Crimes Unit is responsible for the prosecution.
On March 6th of this year, ICE issued a press release stating that on February 28th, a passport fraud investigation by ICE resulted in a one-year prison sentence for Jorge Antonio Velez-Lopez, a 69-year-old Colombian citizen. Velez-Lopez, formerly a priest in a major archdiocese, was convicted of child molestation. Additionally, he had his U.S. citizenship revoked and was ordered to be deported.
The press release mentioned that this case was investigated by ICE as part of a nationwide initiative to identify and prosecute child predators and other serious criminals who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.
During Trump’s first term, the U.S. government intensified efforts to investigate individuals who fraudulently obtained citizenship. In 2018, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement established an office specifically dedicated to reviewing immigration applications and referring cases to the Department of Justice for denaturalization proceedings against citizens.