LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY — A federal jury convicted a Mexican national illegally residing in Kentucky on multiple counts after he assumed the identity of an American citizen to fraudulently obtain a Commercial Driver's License and secure employment.

On February 24, 2026, Joel Sanchez-Mendoza, 39, was convicted following a two-day jury trial in Lexington after approximately two hours of deliberation. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Sanchez-Mendoza used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a real U.S. citizen to obtain both employment and a Kentucky CDL.

The jury convicted Sanchez-Mendoza on one count of making a false statement of citizenship to engage in unlawful employment, one count of making a false statement of citizenship to obtain a Kentucky CDL, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Sanchez-Mendoza is scheduled for sentencing on June 25, 2026, and faces a maximum of 48 months in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The court must also consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable federal sentencing statutes before imposing a final sentence.

The conviction was jointly announced by Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations; and Lesley Allison, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service Pittsburgh Field Division. The investigation was conducted by HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Walker.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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