A resident of the Dominican Republic who has been living in Waterbury has pleaded not guilty after being charged with passport fraud and identity theft charges, officials said.
Jose Luis Rodriguez, 46, is being charged with one count of making a false statement in a passport application and one count of using a passport secured by a false statement, charges that carry a maximum term of 10 years for each count, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut. He also is charged with one count of aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory term of two years.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday in Bridgeport, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to court records, in June 2025, an individual who had been recently released from prison applied for a Connecticut identification card at the Waterbury branch of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles. When processing his application, the DMV claimed that that there was already an active driver’s license for him that had been issued in 2001 and renewed multiple times. Investigators allege that Rodriguez was the unlawful holder of the driver’s license and had assumed the man’s identity.
Officials also allege that Rodriguez used the name, date of birth and place of birth of the man to apply for a U.S. passport in Waterbury on March 5, 2024. He received the passport and used it for travel and identification purposes.
Rodriguez was arrested by federal authorities on Dec. 29, 2025, after he allegedly submitted the false passport to the U.S. Department of State and falsely represented himself as a U.S. citizen.
Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].