Richard Abapo Quidilla, 39, of Pico Rivera, California has been sentenced by a federal judge to 5 years, 6 months in a federal prison for the charges of computer fraud, procurement of citizenship unlawfully, and aggravated identity theft. Quidilla was a contractor working for Dell Perot Systems, an IT and business solutions company, and contracted out to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the administrative wing of the federal immigration system, at the San Diego office. Quidilla was given a user identification code by USCIS to perform his duties as a records custodian that enabled him to access secure federal computer systems and networks. Quidilla would use his access to federal databases to delete personal information such as birthdates, social security numbers, and names from the personal profiles of naturalized citizens and replace them with the information of illegal immigrants, allowing these illegal immigrants to obtain legitimate U.S. passports.

Quidilla admitted to authorities that he had switched the personal information of naturalized citizens with illegal immigrants at least 30 times and charged between $1,300 and $4,100 for his services. At least two illegal immigrants are known to have obtained passports as a result of Quidilla’s crimes. Federal agents with a search warrant found in Quidilla’s residence found blank certificates of citizenship, an embossing device with the official U.S. seal, citizenship records, and legal permanent residence cards, also known as green cards. Dell Perot Systems company spokesperson Caitlin Carroll made a statement in regards to the case, saying, “Dell had no knowledge of the former employee’s criminal behavior prior to his arrest. Dell holds its team members to the highest standards, and has a zero-tolerance policy for unethical behavior.” And USCIS spokesperson Christopher Bentley assured the press that such cases are the exception and not the norm, saying, “USCIS demands that our employees maintain the highest level of integrity and professionalism. USCIS has zero tolerance for criminal activity and employee misconduct, and will take appropriate action to pursue illegal or unethical activity by every means at our disposal.”

This, however, is not the first time immigration records have been compromised. In 2008, USCIS employees at the Vermont Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate connected an independent computer to an external internet connection at the USCIS center to extract personal information with the intent to commit identity fraud. This newest infraction comes as USCIS is attempting to put a new immigration document automation program online—to the tune of $2.4 billion—that has been flagged by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report as potentially dangerous due to a lack of security controls. Assistant Inspector General of IT audits for federal agencies, Frank Deffer has called employee access to secure databases the “most prevalent, high-impact areas of concern” in an audit of USCIS computer systems, also saying that “Insiders at USCIS have perpetrated fraud in the past. USCIS insiders are capable of granting legal residency or citizenship status to someone who poses a national security risk to the United States.”