Man accused of posing as student faces federal fraud charges

A 23-year-old Ukrainian man accused of faking his name and age while attending a Pennsylvania high school and having sex with an underage girl is now facing federal passport fraud and social security fraud charges.

Prosecutors allege that Artur Samarin fraudulently applied for a passport at the Harrisburg post office in December 2015 using a false identity and earlier submitted false information to the Social Security Administration to get a social security card in the same name.

Samarin was earlier charged in Dauphin County with unsworn falsification, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, theft and tampering with public records.

Defense attorney Clarke Madden declined immediate comment but said he hopes people would keep an open mind about his client, whose story he said “we look forward to telling.”