Filipina steals sister’s identity for a passport, may lose U.S. citizenship

BANGOR, Maine — A Filipino woman who stole her sister’s identity and faked her own death in order to apply for a passport may lose her U.S. citizenship.

The Bangor Daily News reports 43-year-old Emilita Arindela, of Mount Desert Island, was sentenced in federal court in Maine last week to 10 days in jail for making a false statement on her passport application. It’s unclear if federal authorities will revoke her citizenship.

Prosecutors say Arindela was already married when she married an American man in 2000. She moved to the U.S. in 2002 and later became a naturalized citizen, using her sister’s name. Arindela left her second husband and married another man in 2007.

Arindela’s attorney says his client escaped an abusive marriage in the Philippines and has been a law-abiding citizen.