NEW YORK, Jan 6 A US court in New Haven, Connecticut, has sentenced a Pakistani national to two years of probation for creating a fake identity by using a counterfeit passport to file an application for a social security card, Nora R. Dannehy, Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said.

Amjad Iqbal, alias “Asif Ali”, a legal resident of Brilliant, Connecticut, had pleaded guilty to one count of Social Security fraud, she said on Wednesday.

Court documents and statements made in the court showed that on June 13 of 2001, Iqbal, using a counterfeit Pakistani passport and Immigration and Naturalisation Employment Card in the name of Asif Ali, applied for a social security card.

In his application to the Social Security District Office in Manhattan, New York, he stated that he did not receive a social security number before. This was a material misrepresentation as he had received such a number in his name.

Based on his statement, the commissioner issued a Social Security Number to him in the name of Asif Ali.

The fraud was detected when he applied for a Capital One Platinum Visa Card in the name of Asif Ali using the Social Security number issued in that name.

An investigation by the Social Security administration, the Office of Inspector General, the Department of State, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Willimantic Police Department revealed the truth, resulting in the conviction.

Opinion

Editorial

Words that wound
Updated 18 Jun, 2026

Words that wound

Hate speech rarely begins with physical attacks.
‘New urban province’
18 Jun, 2026

‘New urban province’

CONSIDERING the advance state of urban decay that affects Karachi, voices are often raised calling for the megacity,...
Punjab budget: mixed bag
18 Jun, 2026

Punjab budget: mixed bag

PUNJAB’S budget for FY27 is a mix of good and bad political choices, with a cash-strapped centre tightening the...
Spoiler alert
17 Jun, 2026

Spoiler alert

AFTER the temporary peace deal between the US and Iran is physically signed in Geneva on Friday, an arduous process...
Storm-tested cities
17 Jun, 2026

Storm-tested cities

THE deaths caused by the latest spell of monsoon rains in KP and Punjab illustrate how quickly severe weather can...
Chakwal tragedy
17 Jun, 2026

Chakwal tragedy

A NINE-year-old girl is dead because a Punjab Crime Control Department gunman mistook her family’s car for a...