Sacramento, California - A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Thursday, December 17, 2015, against Nelli Kesoyan, 43, of Rancho Cordova, charging her with making false entries and reports, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Kesoyan was employed by the Social Security Administration as a claims representative. On October 10, 2014, she made false entries in Social Security Administration records in order to deceive and mislead United States officials conducting naturalization proceedings for another individual.

The indictment was unsealed on Monday, and Kesoyan was arraigned Monday afternoon. She pleaded not guilty. A status conference was set for January 26, 2016, at 09:15 a.m. in Courtroom 6 before United States District Judge John A. Mendez.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy Kelley and Jared Dolan are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Kesoyan faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.