Mexican man accused of stealing dead US child’s identity decades ago to apply for passport

PHOENIX – A Mexican man was indicted for using the identity of a dead U.S. child to apply for a passport decades ago, authorities announced on Thursday.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Phoenix indicted Enrrique Vazquez, 60, with passport and Visa fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Arizona. 

Vazquez first applied for and successfully received a U.S. passport in 1986, using the name Gene Edward Katzorke. Vazquez used that identity in addition to an Arizona license and a U.S. birth certificate when submitting his application.

The Mexican man living in Arizona filed multiple successful passport renewal applications under that name until his application was flagged in 2022.

That is when authorities uncovered an obituary from the 1960s for a Gene Edward Katzorke. An investigation was opened and U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agents later learned that Gene Edward Katzorke was a 2-year-old who had died in 1966.

Authorities also found Katzorke’s name in criminal databases connected to Vazquez.

How did authorities catch the Mexican man accused of fraud?

When Vazquez went to renew his passport under Katzorke’s name in March 2025, authorities arrested him at the Western Passport Center during his scheduled appointment.

He later told authorities his name was Enrrique Vazquez, and he was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He said he picked the name Gene Edward Katzorke after visiting a cemetery.

The Mexican man successfully joined the U.S. military using the Katzorke name; however, he later fled to Mexico after he faced criminal charges for the homicide of a nine-month-old in Tucson.

Vazquez was subsequently deported from Mexico to the U.S. under the assumption that he was a U.S. Citizen. Officials said he has been using Katzorke’s identity since his return to the United States.

Vazquez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Related

Convicted sex offender among 5 migrants Border Patrol arrested in southern ArizonaBorder Patrol agents in Arizona arrest sex offender among group smuggling 3 womenFBI investigating shooting at ICE field office in PhoenixUS Marshals rescue missing Arizona girl; 2 suspects taken into ICE custodyRep. Greg Stanton calls DHS warehouse purchases ‘a joke’ amid Surprise ICE facility pauseHuman smuggler who beat, abandoned 2 brothers in Arizona desert gets 6 years