4 Mass. residents held in fake ID ring
Documents sold to illegal migrants
A ring operating in Massachusetts and across the country sold the identities of hundreds of Puerto Rican US citizens to illegal immigrants since 2009, providing Social Security cards, birth certificates, and other identification documents, federal officials said yesterday.
Authorities busted the alleged ring late last year, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday in federal court in Puerto Rico. Fifty people, including four from Massachusetts, are facing charges of selling the identities for $700 to $2,500 per set.
With the documents, immigrant buyers and others were then able to obtain bona fide driver’s licenses, commit financial fraud, or attempt to secure US passports, federal officials said. Among the places the ring operated: Lynn, Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem, and Worcester, as well as Hartford, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
“It’s extremely serious for national security and public safety,’’ said Bruce Foucart, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge of investigations in Boston and New England. “Obviously with these documents you can go out and get real documents like licenses and passports. Just think of the damage that can be done with these things if it is in the wrong hands.’’
He said ring members stole identities or, in some cases, purchased them from willing participants who needed money. Officials are trying to track the documents, and Foucart urged victims of stolen identities in Puerto Rico to report it to authorities.
“We may never know,’’ he said. “That’s the problem with identity theft.’’
The indictment alleges that conspirators in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico, 20 miles south of San Juan, sold personal information and identity documents from Puerto Ricans to identity brokers, who sold them to illegal immigrants and others across the United States.
Brokers allegedly used codes to procure the documents – like “skirts’’ for women and “pants’’ for men – in varying sizes to signal the age of the person who needed them.
Federal officials first detected the alleged ring in Rockford, Ill., but then discovered that it was thriving in many other states, including Nebraska, Indiana, and Virginia.
Defendants were arrested in areas throughout the continental United States and in Puerto Rico, immigration agency officials said.
Three of the four Massachusetts suspects have been arrested and one remains at large, Foucart said.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was headed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in partnership with other agencies, including the US Postal Service and local police.
“Those willing to buy and sell personal identifying information and documents should take notice of today’s actions,’’ said Assistant US Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.
Identity theft and document fraud has been a major issue in Puerto Rico. To increase security, Puerto Rico invalidated all certified copies of birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010, requiring people to get new ones.
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