Mexican National Indicted for Passport and Visa Fraud After Assuming the Identity of a United States Citizen Over 40 Years Ago
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Enrrique Ricardo Diaz Vazquez, 60, a Mexican national living in Arizona, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on Tuesday with Passport and Visa Fraud.
According to the criminal complaint in this case, an individual purporting to be Gene Edward Katzorke (“Katzorke”), first applied for and received a U.S. passport in 1986, submitting an Arizona license and U.S. birth certificate as supporting documentation. In subsequent years, the same individual filed multiple passport renewal applications, using his previously issued passport to support his identity claim. In 2022, Katzorke’s application was flagged for investigation after agents discovered an obituary from the 1960s for a Gene Edward Katzorke.
During the investigation, United States Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agents learned that Gene Edward Katzorke had died in 1966, at the age of 2 years old. They also learned that Katzorke’s name was linked in criminal databases to Enrrique Ricardo Diaz Vazquez, a Mexican national.
On March 7, 2025, Diaz Vazquez, purporting to be Gene Edward Katzorke, arrived at the Western Passport Center for a regularly scheduled appointment regarding his most recent passport applications. After confirming that he had applied for the renewal under Katzorke’s name, Diaz Vazquez was arrested for Passport and Visa Fraud.
During a post-arrest interview, Diaz Vazquez admitted his real name to be Enrrique Ricardo Diaz Vasquez and his place of birth as Guadalajara, Mexico. Diaz Vazquez told law enforcement agents that he wanted to join the U.S. military and picked the name Gene Edward Katzorke as his alias after visiting a cemetery. Diaz Vazquez successfully joined the military under Katzorke’s name, but then fled to Mexico after facing criminal charges for a homicide involving a nine-month-old infant in Tucson, Arizona. Diaz Vazquez was eventually deported from Mexico to the United States under the belief that he was a U.S. Citizen, and he has been living under Katzorke’s name since that time.
Passport and Visa Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Diplomatic Security Service Tucson Resident Office and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation in this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Sydney Yew, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution