A former Guilford County detention officer has been charged with 20 felony counts of forgery after investigators say he forged magistrates’ signatures on court documents that could be used to keep inmates in jail for up to an additional 48 hours while waiting for federal immigration officers.
The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office announced that 40-year-old Michael Shaun Diehl Jr. had been fired and arrested following an investigation that began on Friday, Sept. 11.
According to Sheriff Danny Rogers, the Guilford County Magistrate’s Office contacted the Sheriff’s Office at about 8 a.m. Friday after discovering what appeared to be a forged magistrate’s signature on a court document submitted by Diehl.
The document was an AOC-CR-662 form – formally called an “Order After Receipt of ICE Detainer and Administrative Warrant.”
The form was associated with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer for inmate Claudio Nepornuceno.
Under North Carolina law, when an inmate covered by the law is the subject of an ICE detainer and administrative warrant, the inmate is to be brought before a judicial official with those documents. The resulting court order can require the jail to hold the inmate for as long as 48 hours after the person otherwise would have been entitled to release – giving ICE an opportunity to take custody.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Nepornuceno was not brought before the magistrate with the ICE detainer.
Instead, investigators say an AOC-CR-662 containing the allegedly forged signature of a magistrate was submitted.
That discovery led the Sheriff’s Office to examine additional jail records.
According to Rogers, investigators found another 19 AOC-CR-662 forms involving 19 other inmates that also contained allegedly forged magistrates’ signatures.
The Sheriff’s Office said that, at this point in the investigation, it appears ICE had issued legitimate detainers for all 20 inmates based on evidence that they were in violation of federal immigration law.
That distinction is important: The Sheriff’s Office isn’t alleging that Diehl fabricated the underlying ICE detainers. The alleged forgeries involved the state court documents that provide the legal authority for continuing to hold the inmates while ICE has an opportunity to take custody.
The allegations come against the backdrop of a long-running debate in North Carolina over the role of county sheriffs in federal immigration enforcement.
For years, some North Carolina sheriffs, including Rogers, resisted holding inmates solely on the basis of an administrative ICE detainer after they would otherwise be entitled to release.
In 2019, an attorney for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said the department would continue communicating with ICE and complying with its legal obligations but wouldn’t hold inmates for an additional 48 hours solely on an ICE detainer because of what the department described as “legitimate Fourth Amendment concerns.”
The NC General Assembly has since changed state law to require greater cooperation with ICE and establish a judicial process for those holds.
Legislation that became effective Oct. 1, 2025, requires inmates covered by the law to be taken before a judicial official when the required ICE detainer and administrative warrant have been received. A court order can then require the inmate to be held for 48 hours beyond the time the inmate otherwise would have been released – unless ICE takes custody sooner or withdraws the detainer.
That makes the magistrate’s role more than simply a paperwork formality.
If the allegations against Diehl are true, the forged signatures were placed on the documents that represented the judicial authorization for continuing to hold the inmates.
What remains unclear is why the forms were allegedly forged rather than taking the inmates before magistrates as required and whether any of the 20 inmates actually remained in custody longer than they legally could have without the allegedly forged orders.
The Rhino Times asked the Sheriff’s Office why investigators believe Diehl forged the forms, whether supervisors or other employees knew the forms were being submitted without the required appearances before magistrates, and whether any of the 20 inmates were held beyond the time they otherwise would have been entitled to release.
The Rhino Times the also asked whether the department is reviewing additional ICE detainer cases and whether procedures have been changed since the alleged forgeries were discovered.
The Sheriff’s Office responded, “The investigation remains ongoing. There is no further information to share at this time.”
The Sheriff’s Office hasn’t revealed whether investigators believe Diehl acted entirely on his own, how long the alleged practice had been occurring or whether additional inmates or documents are being reviewed.
During the investigation, Diehl’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office was terminated.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with 20 counts of felony common law forgery.
Diehl received a $5,000 secured bond and has since been released from custody.
The Sheriff’s Office said the Major Crimes Investigative Unit is continuing its investigation and that additional charges may be forthcoming
