ALBANY, NEW YORK – Paul J. Carter, also known as Paul Hamilton, and formerly known as Paul Cristallo, pled guilty today to making false statements in a 2018 U.S. visa application.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Matthew Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Carter, age 55, an Australian citizen residing in Watervliet, New York, admitted to lying about his criminal history when he sought to renew his E-2 visa in 2018. E-2 visas admit certain foreign nationals who have invested a substantial amount of money in a U.S. business. Carter obtained an E-2 visa, and began residing in the United States, in 2014.
Carter faces up to 10 years in prison, as well as a maximum $250,000 fine, when Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy sentences him on January 12, 2022. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by HSI, with assistance from the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
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