Thread: Maryland Man Sentenced for Providing Fake Docs to Illegals

Maryland Man Sentenced for Providing Fake Docs to Illegals
April 25, 2011

by Amanda Gaines
WMAL.com

BALTIMORE, Md. -- A Maryland man has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for providing fake birth certificates and social security numbers to illegal immigrants.

Jose Oscar Melendez, 40, of Middle River, plead guilty to charges of identification document fraud. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by two years supervised release.

Melendez posed as an inspector at worksites in Maryland and Virginia, Barbara Sale of the US Attorney's Office told 630 WMAL News. He approached supervisors and told them that he could offer identification for illegal aliens employed at the site.

"He told them he could provide genuine Rochester, New York, birth certificates and social security numbers" for the illegals, Sale said.

Melendez accompanied some of the illegal immigrants to post offices where he helped them apply for US passports, Sale added. He charged illegals up to $6,000 for each set of fake documents.

Nine illegal aliens, mostly from South and Central America, were indicted in Maryland and Virginia and charged with making a false statement in their passport application, making a false claim of U.S. citizenship, and using a fraudulent social security number.

Eight defendants plead guilty. The last defendant in Maryland is a fugitive.

Melendez is a US citizen and not subject to deportation.

http://wmal.com/Article.asp?id=2169771

The supervisors who did not report this guy to ICE and police are guilty of identity fraud as well.

Who did they think those social security numbers belonged to? Since when is it okay to steal from American citizens to exploit illegal workers?