Ocala, Florida – Howard D. Farley, Jr. (72, Weirsdale) has pleaded guilty to passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, and operating as a pilot without a legitimate airman’s certificate. Farley faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. As part of the agreement, Farley also agreed to forfeit a firearm and ammunition in his home, as well as an aircraft that was seized by the Department of Homeland Security.
According to the plea agreement, Farley admitted to using the identity of a deceased person to obtain a United States passport and an Airman’s Certificate (pilot’s license). Farley admitted to operating as an airman using the fraudulently obtained certificate between January 4, 2016, until his arrest by federal authorities on November 28, 2020.
Other court documents established that Farley used the identity of a deceased infant for over 35 years to avoid apprehension in the District of Nebraska where, in 1985, he had been indicted with a narcotics conspiracy. Those charges were dismissed in 2014.
This case was investigated by the Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE–Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, and with support from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.