Thread: 50 individuals charged with trafficking identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens

RELATED

U.S. uncovers major immigration ID fraud scheme

http://www.alipac.us/f12/u-s-uncover...scheme-247923/

Feds say ID fraud ring operated in Lynn, Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem, and Worcester

By Globe Staff
January 11, 2012

Fifty people have been charged in an alleged identity fraud ring that sold personal information and identity documents to illegal immigrants. Among the places the ring operated: Lynn, Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem, and Worcester, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said today.

The charges against the alleged ring members were laid out in an indictment unsealed today in federal Puerto Rico.

The arrests reflect the agency’s “unrelenting determination to identify and dismantle national smuggling rings engaged in document and identity fraud,” ICE Director John Morton said in a statement.

Defendants were arrested in areas throughout the continental United States and in Puerto Rico, ICE said. Searches were also executed as part of an ongoing investigation.

The indictment alleges that conspirators in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico, sold personal identifying information and identity documents from U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico to identity brokers, who sold them to illegal immigrants and others.

“Those willing to buy and sell personal identifying information and documents should take notice of today’s actions,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

Feds say ID fraud ring operated in Lynn, Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem, and Worcester - Metro - The Boston Globe

The indictment alleges that various identity brokers were operating in
Rockford, Ill.;
Indianapolis;
DeKalb, Ill.;
Columbus and Seymour, Ind.;
Aurora, Ill.;
Hartford, Conn.;
Clewiston, Fla.;
Lilburn and
Norcross, Ga.;
Salisbury, Md.;
Dorchester, Mass.;
Lawrence, Mass.;
Salem, Mass.;
Worcester, Mass.;
Grand Rapids, Mich.;
Nebraska City, Neb.;
Elizabeth, N.J.;
Burlington, N.C.;
Hickory, N.C.;
Hazelton, Pa.;
Philadelphia;
Houston; and
Abingdon, Va.

RELATED

14 indicted in $5 million conspiracy to provide ID documents to illegal aliens

http://www.alipac.us/f12/14-indicted...aliens-247982/

ICE Takes Down Mega Fake I.D. Ring in Puerto Rico

Published January 12, 2012
Fox News Latino

ICE Takes Down Mega Fake I.D. Ring in Puerto Rico | Fox News Latino

Even the BBC is covering this one.

11 January 2012 Last updated at 19:38 ET

Fifty held for selling US documents to illegal migrants

US authorities believe the conspiracy has been in operation since at least April 2009

Fifty people have been held over one of the largest fraud cases investigated by US immigration officials, involving alleged Puerto Rican identity theft.

The accused conspired to sell the identities of thousands of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants, US authorities say.

Legal documents were allegedly sold for as much as $2,500 (£1,631) per person.

Hundreds of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver's licences were bought since 2009, officials say.

A tip-off from police in the US state of Illinois prompted an almost two-year long undercover operation known as Island Express.

The 50 suspects have each been charged with conspiracy to commit identification fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Clothing-measures code

A suspected network of people in several US states are said to have sold legal documents originating in the US island territory of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean as part of the alleged black-market ring.

Puerto Rican documents were especially coveted because they are legitimate US documents with Hispanic names - and many illegal immigrants to the US are originally from Latin American countries.

"The vast majority were legitimate documents obtained by fraudulent or false means,'' said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton.

"We have gone after everyone involved in the chain: the leaders, the suppliers, the brokers, the runners.''

The alleged conspiracy was kept hidden through a sophisticated code system.

Go-betweens would make coded phone calls asking for skirts for female customers and pants for male customers in specific sizes which referred to the age and type of identity requested, the ICE alleges.

It is alleged that the suppliers even offered to exchange the documents if customers were not satisfied.

In 2010, thousands of Puerto Ricans were reported to have been subject to identity fraud and in July of that year the government began annulling old birth certificates and issuing new ones with added security features in order to address the problem.

It is not known how much money the gang made from the operation.

BBC News - Fifty held for selling US documents to illegal migrants

I remember hearing about these cases sometime back and I feel for the victims of identity theft. Puerto Ricans are a very easy target and non-Puerto Rican Hispanics are also victims of identity theft.