West Hartford Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Joey Chibuko, 46, a Nigerian citizen who had been living in West Hartford, was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to 168 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Offenses against Chibiko, who according to court documents has also used the aliases Steven Ray Buckley, Steven R. Buckley, Steven Buckley, and Joseph Price, include multiple identity theft, fraud, and immigration offenses.

A news release from the Department of Justice states, "According to the evidence presented during a trial earlier this year, on May 3, 1993, Chibuko entered the United States, in California, on a six-month tourist visa. Shortly thereafter, CHIBUKO married an American citizen and was granted conditional residency in the U.S. However, during the period of his conditional residency, Chibuko was arrested by the Oakland (Calif.) Police Department. While on release from those charges, Chibuko fled to Massachusetts where he assumed a series of identities. In 1999, Chibuko stole an identification document belonging to an American citizen who was residing in Massachusetts and suffered from a developmental disability. Chibuko then assumed that individual’s identity, and eventually settled in the Hartford area where he used his assumed identity to obtain a U.S. passport, a social security number, and a Connecticut driver’s license. In 2008, CHIBUKO fraudulently registered to vote as a U.S. citizen."       

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a search warrant was executed at Chibuko's residence on Sept. 9, 2010, and resulted in the seizure of multiple identification documents as evidence.

According to court documents, on May 24, 2011, Chibuko was found guilty of "one count of United States passport fraud, one count of making a false claim of United States citizenship, two counts of social security fraud, two counts of identity fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. "     

Chibuko will face deportation proceedings upon his release from prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that this case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security; the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.  The State of Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory provided critical assistance to the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Mattei and Douglas P. Morabito.