A French citizen who had previously been deported from the United States pleaded guilty Monday to being in the United States illegally.
U.S. Border Patrol agents found Philippe Maurice riding a bicycle on a dirt logging road in Portage on May 17, according to court documents. Maurice, 50, claimed he was a U.S. citizen, but he produced a French driver’s license when asked for proof of citizenship.
Maurice then acknowledged to the agents that he was a French citizen, and his friends had dropped him off in Canada near the border with Maine. He entered the country illegally by riding a bike through the closed St. Pamphile Port of Entry.
Immigration records show that Maurice was first removed from the United States in 2015. It is unclear why he was deported at that time.
Maurice appeared Monday is U.S. District Court in Bangor. He faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence investigation report.
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