PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- Janet Napolitano, United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, announced today that Eloy Fernandez-Fernandez, 47 years old, a Mexican National residing in Yuma, pled guilty in Federal District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, to making false statements to the United States Government.

Fernandez admitted that on September 5 and 26, 1996, he made false oral and written statements to agents of the Office of Inspector General of the Treasury Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to induce those agencies to allow him to remain in the U.S. when he would otherwise be facing potential deportation.

Mr. Fernandez admitted that he fabricated a story that in September, 1992, while present in the office of a Mexican police official in Tijuana, Mexico, he saw the Mexican official hand a shaving kit containing a large amount of U.S. currency to two men. Fernandez said that at the time of the incident he recognized one of the men as Joe Vasquez, a former employee of the U.S. Customs Service. Fernandez said he did not know at the time who the second man was, but that he later learned that the man was Rudy M. Camacho, then (and now) an employee of the U.S. Customs Service. Fernandez made this false statement three times: once on September 5, 1996, and twice (once orally and once in a written affidavit) on September 26, 1996. Fernandez also agreed to take a polygraph to test the truthfulness of his statements. The polygraph was administered by the FBI on October 22, 1996. The polygraph examiner concluded that Fernandez was deceptive. Federal agents told Fernandez on the same day that he had failed the polygraph; Fernandez then admitted that he had fabricated the entire allegation, and that he had never seen Camacho or Vasquez take money from any Mexican police official.

Fernandez said he fabricated the statement because he was concerned about his immigration status, was facing imminent exclusion from the United States, and had concluded that by making the false statement to law enforcement agents he could get them to allow him to remain in the United States to assist in an investigation of his claims.

A conviction for a false statement carries a maximum penalty of five years, a $250,000 fine or both. Sentencing is set before United States District Judge Earl H. Carroll on January 27, 1997.

The investigation was conducted by special agents with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Treasury and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by Charles M. Steele, Assistant United States Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.