Federal Indictment in Charlotte
A federal grand jury in Charlotte, North Carolina, has returned a criminal indictment charging Sha Bahadur Ghaley, 42, with naturalization fraud, according to a 2026-09-23 announcement by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Ghaley, a naturalized citizen originally from Bhutan, is alleged to have obtained his U.S. citizenship by intentionally concealing a history of sexual crimes against a child.
The indictment alleges that between 2010 and 2014, Ghaley committed sexual offenses in Charlotte. While he later pleaded guilty to three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child in 2024, the federal government asserts that he failed to disclose these actions during his naturalization process. Specifically, the government claims that Ghaley lied on his December 2017 application and during his January 2018 interview by denying that he had committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested. Ghaley was granted citizenship in July 2018. He is currently in state custody and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
Civil Denaturalization Proceedings
In addition to the criminal prosecution of Ghaley, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina has filed civil complaints against three other individuals, seeking the revocation of their U.S. citizenship. These actions, filed between June and August, allege that the individuals secured naturalization through willful misrepresentation and the concealment of material facts.
The civil defendants include:
- Benjamin Hernandez (also known as Luis Elder Alvarado): Allegedly entered the U.S. illegally and was ordered removed in 1999. The complaint claims he later used a different identity to obtain permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship in 2008 through marriage.
- Han Xiong Chen: Allegedly entered the U.S. in 1996, was deported after using a fraudulent passport, and reentered illegally in 1999. The government asserts he relied on false statements regarding his history to obtain legal status.
- Kevin Yun-Sang Kim: Allegedly failed to comply with a 1996 order to voluntarily depart the U.S., which converted into a deportation order. The government claims he concealed this outstanding order during his naturalization proceedings.
These civil cases are being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Litigation Division. As these are civil matters, the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that naturalization was illegally procured. Defendants in these cases have not been found liable, and the claims remain allegations at this stage.