Illegal Immigrant Using Stolen Oregon Identity for Three Decades Finally Caught in Montana

A 48-year-old man from Billings who has been living illegally in the United States under an assumed identity for 30 years was yesterday sentenced to seven months in prison and three years of supervised release.

False Declaration on Passport Application

Diego Xiap pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of making a false declaration in a passport application. Court documents reveal that Xiap submitted an application for a U.S. passport at the Billings post office on February 3, 2021.

He provided a Montana driver’s license number as proof of identity. However, the license belonged to John Doe 1. Xiap provided a birth certificate filed in 1976 to prove citizenship.

His application was regarded as suspicious and was referred to a Diplomatic Service Special (DSS) agent for investigation. The agent discovered that Xiap had been living under the assumed identity of John Doe 1 for 30 years. The owner of the true identity had been living in Puerto Rico his entire life and had never left the country.

Further investigation revealed that Xiap had an Oregon work identification card in the name of yet another person, John Doe 2.

Xiap was tracked to Billings by the DSS agent on April 24, 2024, where he maintained that his true identity was that of John Doe 1.

Xiap appeared before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich.