Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

County jail worker suspended without pay, charged with fraud

A Metro Police corrections officer has been relieved of duty without pay after it was discovered that he obtained U.S. citizenship in 2006 by fraud.

Police received a tip in November 2007 that 33-year-old Tzendo Valov Dimitrov was granted citizenship after his fraudulent marriage to a woman claiming to be a U.S. citizen.

Police said Dimitrov and the woman forged the name of a U.S. citizen on their Clark County marriage license application and were then married using that license. Dimitrov then submitted the fake marriage certificate to the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Bureau to support his citizenship application.

After an investigation, police booked Dimitrov inito the Clark County Detention Center on Monday charged with one count of forgery and one count of offering a false instrument for record. All Metro Police officers must be U.S. citizens, police said.

Dimitrov was released late Monday and relieved of duty without pay. The woman's identity remains under ongoing investigation.

A review of Dimitrov's personnel file by Metro Police shows all documents provided from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau confirming his citizenship were authentic and all verification by police were followed during his background investigation. Immigration officials will make a final decision on Dimitrov's citizenship.

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