HARRISBURG, Pa. – A Ukrainian man who posed as a high school student in Harrisburg and was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 25, for passport fraud and social security fraud plead guilty today to both charges before U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo in Harrisburg.
According to the United States Attorney, Artur Samarin, 23, using the identity of Asher Potts, applied for a United States passport, was fraudulently issued a social security card on July 17, 2014 and, later applied for and received a replacement card on November 18, 2015.
Samarin faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a $500,000 find. No date was set for sentencing. Samarin also recently pleaded guilty to a separate charge in state court in Dauphin County.
The case was investigated by the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the City of Harrisburg Bureau of Police and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.
