A Honduran national has been sentenced to federal prison for illegal reentry after deportation, social security number fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Vidal Ricardo Murillo-Zuniga, 34, received a sentence of two years and one day on July 31, 2025, in the Western District of Kentucky.
Authorities stated that Murillo-Zuniga was found in the United States after being removed on May 29, 2013. On January 22, 2025, he was identified as an alien present in the country without permission. According to court records, on June 13, 2024, he used another person’s social security number to secure employment at Mammy’s Kitchen in Nelson County, Kentucky. On the same day, he also used another individual’s name and date of birth during the commission of social security fraud.
“As part of Operation Take Back America, we are committed to charging illegal immigrants who have previously been removed. That is all the more the case for defendants, like Mr. Murillo-Zuniga, who victimize American citizens by stealing their identities,” said U.S. Attorney Bumgarner.
The federal prison system does not offer parole.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Ansari prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is connected to Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative from the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration and related crimes through collaboration with Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
