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A 24-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who allegedly posed as a teenager and enrolled in an Ohio high school pleaded guilty on Monday to lying on immigration forms and applications to purchase a firearm.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra is accused of using fraudulent documents to pose as a 16-year-old student and enroll in Perrysburg High School, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a news release on Tuesday. Prosecutors say he could face up to 30 years behind bars.
Labrador-Sierra submitted a false date of birth to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on federal applications for Temporary Protective Status and Employment Authorization Documents in 2024 and 2025, according to the indictment.
He also allegedly possessed a Taurus G3C 9mm semiautomatic pistol, which he was not allowed to have since he was in the U.S. illegally. The Justice Department alleges that Labrador-Sierra submitted false information to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to purchase the firearm.
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Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty on Monday to possession of a firearm by an alien, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and using false documents. (Wood County Jail)
Perrysburg Schools said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital in May that Labrador-Sierra had been enrolled at Perrysburg High School under the name and age of a 16-year-old unaccompanied minor on Jan. 11, 2024, in accordance with federal and state requirements for enrolling students experiencing homelessness or without a legal guardian.
Between Jan. 11, 2024, and May 14, 2025, the school system said Labrador-Sierra obtained documentation and support, further complicating the situation.
Labrador-Sierra “worked with immigration attorneys to file for Temporary Protective Status, which was granted by the U.S. Immigration Service,” the school system said. “This provided him with an Ohio driver’s license, a Social Security card, and a work permit.”
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in June. (Perryburg Police Department)
The school also said that Labrador-Sierra had completed an application for a visa with help from Advocating Opportunities, which provides free legal assistance.
Labrador-Sierra had been a member of the junior varsity soccer and swim teams, according to school officials.
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Labrador-Sierra had been living with a local family who believed they were helping a homeless teen after the Wood County Juvenile Court granted them guardianship. The guardians contacted the school on May 14 to report they had received information indicating Labrador-Sierra was not a minor, but rather a 24-year-old man.
Labrador Sierra reportedly denied the allegation when district administrators met with him on May 15. He was ultimately taken into custody during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 about a month later.
Labrador-Sierra is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2026. (iStock)
Labrador-Sierra pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an alien, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and using false documents.
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Labrador-Sierra is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2026.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.