A Moldovan woman has been stripped of her U.S. citizenship after she was discovered to have been involved in a business that sexually exploited children.
Tatiana Power gained her U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process but was later convicted of crimes related to a child modeling business.
Power served as the bookkeeper for Newstar Websites, which recruited children under the guise of modeling operations, but instead forced them into sexual conduct for images and videos. The organization targeted Moldovan, Ukrainian, and other Eastern European children, then sold their child sexual exploitation materials to customers in more than a hundred countries.
Prosecutors stated that approximately 4.6 million videos and images of children were produced, including those as young as six years old. Some victims were compelled to wear transparent underwear, pantyhose, miniskirts, or dress up in cheerleader or police costumes.
Power pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and was sentenced in 2022 to more than 12 years in prison.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced it had stripped Power of her citizenship.
Power was one of six individuals charged with crimes related to the case; two have died, two were imprisoned, and one has evaded U.S. custody.
The Justice Department has filed 123 civil denaturalization complaints — a record number in U.S. history. Others who have been stripped of citizenship include Narinder Singh of India for identity fraud, Emigdio Sanchez of Mexico for lying about being arrested for domestic abuse, and Yetunde Folake Olaniyi of Nigeria for entering into a sham marriage.
