Police: ID Scam Broken Up In Bedford County
Police Arrest 2 In Connection With Fake IDs
POSTED: 5:40 pm CDT March 26,
2007
UPDATED: 8:49 pm CDT March 26,
2007
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- Police said a scam to get fake driver's licenses and Social Security cards into the hands of illegal immigrants has been broken up by police in middle Tennessee.
Video: Police: 2 Arrested In Fake ID, License ScamInvestigators said the ring was broken by police in Bedford County over the weekend.Fake Social Security cards were $50, fake resident identification cards were $180 and Tennessee, Kentucky or California driver’s licenses were being sold for $150, according to police.They said people involved in the scam would conduct business out in the open and that the fakes were difficult to discern from real ones.Police said David Gonzalez manufactured all the cards at his home in Columbia and that he was good at it.“Looking at the Tennessee driver’s license, California driver’s license, there was no way to determine if it was fake or not,” said Shelbyville police Detective Brian Crews.Crews said Gonzalez used computers, digital cameras and a double-sided laser printer to make the fake identification cards at his home.Police also arrested Julian Jimenez on suspicion of arranging deals and running the deals through Shelbyville.Both men are illegal immigrants, police said.“This is probably one of the larger-scale operations that we’ve done involving the illegal documents that were being produced,” Crews said.Police said the number of illegal immigrants in middle Tennessee carrying IDs manufactured by Gonzalez and Jimenez is unknown.They said they found at least 300 ready for sale when they caught Gonzalez at his home Friday.Some of the names on the cards were real even if the cards were fakes, police said.“So many of these cases, they have actually stolen someone else’s identity and used actual names and Social Security numbers, so there are numerous victims for identity theft,” Crews said.The U.S. Secret Service has confiscated all the equipment from Gonzalez’s home and said that federal charges are pending.Police said they bought five fake identifications from Gonzalez in an undercover sting and that that is what led to his arrest.
Video: Police: 2 Arrested In Fake ID, License ScamInvestigators said the ring was broken by police in Bedford County over the weekend.Fake Social Security cards were $50, fake resident identification cards were $180 and Tennessee, Kentucky or California driver’s licenses were being sold for $150, according to police.They said people involved in the scam would conduct business out in the open and that the fakes were difficult to discern from real ones.Police said David Gonzalez manufactured all the cards at his home in Columbia and that he was good at it.“Looking at the Tennessee driver’s license, California driver’s license, there was no way to determine if it was fake or not,” said Shelbyville police Detective Brian Crews.Crews said Gonzalez used computers, digital cameras and a double-sided laser printer to make the fake identification cards at his home.Police also arrested Julian Jimenez on suspicion of arranging deals and running the deals through Shelbyville.Both men are illegal immigrants, police said.“This is probably one of the larger-scale operations that we’ve done involving the illegal documents that were being produced,” Crews said.Police said the number of illegal immigrants in middle Tennessee carrying IDs manufactured by Gonzalez and Jimenez is unknown.They said they found at least 300 ready for sale when they caught Gonzalez at his home Friday.Some of the names on the cards were real even if the cards were fakes, police said.“So many of these cases, they have actually stolen someone else’s identity and used actual names and Social Security numbers, so there are numerous victims for identity theft,” Crews said.The U.S. Secret Service has confiscated all the equipment from Gonzalez’s home and said that federal charges are pending.Police said they bought five fake identifications from Gonzalez in an undercover sting and that that is what led to his arrest.Copyright 2007 by WSMV.com. All rights reserved.
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