Miami Former Soldier Faces Fraud Charges
MIAMI (CBS4) - A former Miami soldier and who later served the US Government as a Guantanamo Bay photographer is facing federal fraud charges Miami over the passport he 0btained so he could serve in Iraq.
The government says 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 says 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.
The government claims he knew he was ineligible, but applied again anyway.
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.
