Illinois Man Charged with Producing False U.S. Passports and Mailing Them to New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. - An Illinois man is charged with furnishing others with false U.S. passport cards through the mail, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Juma Wajid, aka "Jay Khan," and "Jamal Anthony," 36, most recently of Chicago, Illinois, is charged with one count of furnishing a false, forged, and counterfeited U.S. passport to another for use. Wajid appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge John K. Larkins III in Atlanta federal court and was released on $15,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In April 2024, law enforcement identified a package containing a fake U.S. passport card that was sent through the mail. Law enforcement found that Wajid used an online account to send hundreds of mailings between June 2022 and April 2024 and that he used an encrypted messaging application to advertise the sale of fake identification documents.

In August 2024, law enforcement purchased five false U.S. passport cards, as well as additional documents, from Wajid, who created the documents and mailed them to an address in New Jersey in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency.

The charge of furnishing a false passport to another person carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, New York Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian K. Wood; postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; and officers of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, under the direction of Director Laurie Doran, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor A. Chenoweth of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.