A group of six Mexican nationals are under indictment for their roles in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit U.S. immigration and identification documents.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the six foreign nationals sold packages of fraudulent documents — including Social Security cards and “green cards” — to buyers at prices ranging from $80 to $150.
The defendants — Angelica Moreno-Velasquez, 31, Maria Victoria Perez-Vasquez, 30, Francisco Javier Hidalgo-Flores, 25, Lizet Amairani Ramirez-Zazueta, 26, Veronica Rosales-Capitaine, 49, and Fidel Vasquez-Velasquez, 22 — are all charged with crimes in conjunction with the conspiracy.
According to the Justice Department, the group Vasquez-Velasquez, Hidalgo-Flores and Rosales‑Capitaine produced the fraudulent documents. Vasquez-Velasquez, Hidalgo-Flores and Perez-Vasquez were responsible for taking orders, photographs and biographical information from customers and delivering the finished false documents to them. Moreno-Velasquez and Ramirez-Zazueta were also involved in the delivery process.
“HSI aggressively targets criminals who illegally create and distribute fake ID’s,” Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco, said in a statement. “This nefarious activity opens a dangerous path for those wishing to cause harm to our country and wreak havoc on the lives of innocent identity theft victims.”
The six Mexican nationals face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. The charge of transferring false identification documents or possessing the equipment to produce the false documents carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Moreno-Velasquez, Perez-Vasquez, Hidalgo-Flores, Ramirez-Zazueta, and Vasquez-Velasquez also could see another 10 years added on to their sentence if they are convicted of fraud and misuse of green cards.
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