Venezuelan man claimed to be high school age and attended Ohio school for months, justice department says
A Venezuelan adult is accused of lying about his age to enroll at a Northwest Ohio high school, in addition to lying on immigration forms and on applications to purchase a firearm.
Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra is 24 years old, but had managed to enroll as a student at Perrysburg High School in Perrysburg, a suburb of Toledo, before his actual age was known, according to details related in a press release issued Friday from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
Perrysburg school officials said he attended classes for months and was even involved in school sports.
The U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector-Sandusky Bay Station was involved in the investigation.
Other agencies involved included the Perrysburg Police Department, Perrysburg Schools, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Toledo Field Office, Wood County (Ohio) Prosecutor's Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within the Department of Justice.
Man allegedly claimed to be "an unaccompanied minor"
Perrysburg Superintendent Thomas L. Hosler related the school district's experience and actions in a video statement posted Wednesday and written statements on the school's website.
"He went to extraordinary lengths to conceal his identity," Hosler said about the now former student, citing a series of forged documents and false claims about the person's circumstances. "Our school district, along with the state and federal agencies, were misled by an intentional act of fraud."
When Labrador-Sierra enrolled at the high school in January 2024, he claimed to be an unaccompanied minor.
Hosler said the school district has experience with international student records and transfers. They worked with legal representation on this case because of the complexity. The document checking included an attempt to contact what they believed to be the student's former school in Venezuela.
But that school was closed.
In the meantime, the student worked with immigration attorneys to get temporary protective status and later filed for a visa. This allowed him to get documents that included an Ohio driver's license and a work permit.
For its part, the Wood County (Ohio) juvenile court system assigned the student to a guardianship and a host family.
"All parties involved believed him to be a 16- (or) 17-year-old student," the superintendent said.
He said the community's trust was broken, citing the compassion and assistance local residents provided during the individual's time on campus.
The district attorney's office said Labrador-Sierra is accused of having submitted false information to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about his date of birth in connection with applications for Temporary Protective Status and Employment Authorization documents filed during 2024 and 2025.
Revocation of student status preceded suspect's arrest
When school officials received information from the guardians that the student might not be of high school age and enrolled over false pretenses, they immediately got law enforcement involved.
Hosler said they met with the individual, and he was not permitted on school property while that investigation began.
"We reviewed our enrollment process and confirmed we followed federal law," he added.
The individual was arrested May 19.
Man participated on school sports teams, school reports
A further complication for the school, according to the superintendent, is that he had participated in student athletics, specifically the JV soccer and swim teams.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association "confirmed Perrysburg schools followed all procedures and face no penalties," Hosler said.
Authorities probing into possible firearms possession
In a related matter, the district attorney's office has looked into a firearms possession detail.
"The complaint further alleges that Labrador-Sierra does not have lawful status to purchase, own or possess a firearm in the United States, and that he submitted false information on the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473 to purchase a firearm. Among the alleged false statements he submitted when he purchased a Taurus 9mm, semiautomatic pistol from a licensed firearms dealer, were that he attested to being a United States citizen or national," the press release said.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison on the charge of possession of firearm by a felon, 10 years in prison on the charge of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and up to five years in prison on the charge of using false documents.
School and law enforcement officials say the investigation is continuing.
The district attorney's office asks that anyone with information on the case call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or go to fbi.gov/tips.
