Philippine national who took cruise to Juneau by impersonating US citizen gets 53 months in prison

The Dimond Courthouse on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Independent)

Juneau Independent staff

A man arrested on a cruise ship last year in Juneau for stealing identities of U.S. citizens and using one of them for the voyage to Alaska was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Enrico Ronquillo, 38, a Philippine national, boarded the Discovery Princess cruise ship in Seattle in May 2025, using the stolen identity information in his passenger application, according to a press release issued Thursday by prosecutors. He was arrested when the ship reached Juneau on May 14 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

"A CBP officer searched Ronquillo’s backpack and found two birth certificates and a California driver’s license that appeared to be fraudulent," the release notes. "The fraudulent driver’s license and birth certificate contained the personally identifiable information (PII) of an identity theft victim known to investigators. The victim told investigators he lost his original driver’s license in 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ronquillo was also carrying a large amount of cash in his pockets and in his backpack, after using another person’s credit card to obtain money from the ship’s casino, according to prosecutors.

KTOO, in a report last year, cites court records stating he admitted the scheme to officials, had committed similar crimes on ships before, and was planning to depart Juneau that day by plane. The story notes he was released on bail a few days later, and cut off his ankle monitor and attempted to flee Juneau, but was recaptured by police at Juneau International Airport.

Ronquillo was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 10, 2025. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 19, 2026, to one count of false impersonation of a U.S. citizen and one count of aggravated identity theft. On Wednesday he was sentenced to 53 months in prison, ordered to serve one year on supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence, pay more than $25,000 in restitution, and he will be subject to deportation proceedings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.