Previously deported Guatemalan woman convicted of criminal vehicle deaths of 4 children charged in Minnesota with ID theft, illegal re-entry

MINNEAPOLIS — A Guatemalan woman, who was previously convicted in 2008 for the Minnesota criminal vehicle deaths of four school children, and was later deported, was indicted in federal court Friday on three counts related to identify theft and illegal re-entry after deportation.

These criminal charges resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Olga Marina Franco del Cid, 35, an illegal alien from Guatemala who formerly resided in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, has been charged with illegal re-entry, identification document fraud, and false representation of social security account number. U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald, for the District of Minnesota, announced these criminal charges. Franco del Cid will appear Dec. 16 before Magistrate Judge Katherine M. Menendez in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on these charges.

According to documents filed in court, Franco del Cid was previously removed from the United States May 4, 2016, following her release from state prison for a felony conviction in August 2008, in Lyon County, Minnesota, for criminal vehicular homicide. That incident involved a vehicle crash with a school bus that resulted in the deaths of four children ages 9-13, including two brothers.

On Nov. 26, 2019, the defendant was found in the United States in violation of this previous removal. Illegally re-entering the U.S. after a deportation is a felony under federal law. Franco del Cid is also charged with identification fraud for using a false U.S. Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as a “green card”), and for social security fraud for falsely representing a social security number on an Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura M. Provinzino, District of Minnesota, is prosecuting this case.