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Former Military Photographer Faces Fraud Charges

MIAMI (CBS4)-- A former Guantanamo Bay photographer is facing federal fraud charges Miami.

The government said Elisha Leo Dawkins made a false statement in applying for a U.S. passport in 2006 when he failed to say he had previously applied for a passport. If convicted, Dawkins faces prison time and possibly deportation to the Bahamas.

Dawkins' attorney said Dawkins grew up in Miami believing he was a U.S. citizen. Dawkins obtained a Florida birth certificate to get a passport to travel to Iraq as a soldier in 2007 without anyone catching a removal order issued when he was 8.

Dawkins served as an Army combat cameraman in Iraq. After an honorable discharge, he studied nursing and joined the Naval Reserves, which sent him to Guantanamo last year to serve in the public relations unit.

(© 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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