An adult illegal alien has been arrested after he was caught posing as a teenager in order to enroll in an Ohio high school.
24-year-old Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra from Venezuela was arrested in Perrysburg.
Sierra was caught enrolling in a public school using fraudulent documents.
Court records show that Sierra has been charged with forgery, and he is being held on a $50,000 bond.
The local police department said it was contacted by the Perrysburg Local Schools on Monday about possible fraudulent activity involving one of its students.
After a preliminary investigation, a fraud case was established.
The case was then handed over to the department’s detectives for further investigation.
Perrysburg Police Department detectives worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
It was discovered that Sierra was a 24-year-old illegal from Venezuela.
Investigators also learned Sierra used fraudulent documents to enroll in Perrysburg Schools.
He used the fake documents to pose as a 16-year-old student.
Officials said in a statement that Sierra had been enrolled at Perrysburg High School under the name and age of a 16-year-old unaccompanied minor on January 11, 2024.
The school district accepted his enrollment in accordance with federal and state requirements for enrolling students experiencing homelessness or without a legal guardian.
Between Jan. 11, 2024, and May 14, 2025, the school said Sierra obtained documentation and support, further complicating the situation.
In one example, he obtained a state-issued driver’s license, social security number, and Temporary Protective Status (TPS) from U.S. Immigration.
The school also said Sierra completed an application for a visa with help from Advocating Opportunities, which provides free legal assistance.
The Wood County Juvenile Court granted guardianship of Sierra to a Perrysburg family.
School officials said the guardians contacted the school on May 14 to report they had received information indicating Sierra was not a minor.
The family had discovered that he was actually a 24-year-old man.
Sierra reportedly denied the allegation when district administrators met with him on May 15.
“Given the seriousness of the claim, Perrysburg Schools immediately directed the guardians to keep Labrador off school property while the matter was investigated further,” the school said.
“This case involves highly unusual and deceptive circumstances that impacted many local, state, and federal agencies.”
“The school district has reviewed its actions regarding enrollment and is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor as spelled out in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,” the district added.
“We appreciate our close partnership with the Perrysburg Police Division and the swift action taken.”
The school also updated the statement, saying Sierra had been a member of the junior varsity soccer and swim teams.
The statement added that the situation has been reported to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Sierra was ultimately taken into custody during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Sierra’s real information was located under a different spelling of his name.
DHS added that Sierra is a visa overstay who first came to the U.S. in 2019, and he has received TPS.
Sierra is being held in the Wood County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 29.
