http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cct ... 527391.htm

Cashing in on illegal immigration
By Dave Montgomery
KNIGHT RIDDER

WASHINGTON - Forgers are making tens of millions, and possibly billions, of dollars selling counterfeit Social Security cards, driver's licenses, immigrant registration cards and other papers to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

The dominant forgery-and-distribution network in the United States allegedly is controlled by the Castorena family, say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Its members emigrated from Mexico in the late 1980s and have used their printing skills and business acumen to capture a big piece of the booming industry.

Only trained experts can distinguish its fake identity documents from real ones, and the Castorena Family Organization, or CFO, as immigration officials call it, has spread to at least 50 cities in 33 states.

At a sentencing hearing for one family member in December, U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock of Denver said that the CFO's criminal reach is "simply breathtaking" and strikes "at the heart of the sovereignty of the United States of America."

The threat of terrorism has made document forgers even more menacing since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Two of the Sept. 11 hijackers used fraudulent notarized forms to obtain valid Virginia ID cards, which enabled them to board the two airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Julie Myers, assistant secretary for ICE, calls document forging an "epidemic."

Her agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is waging a nationwide crackdown on forgery rings and has formed multiagency task forces in 10 cities, including Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn.

The agency's investigations have hobbled many CFO operations, indicting and convicting family members and senior subordinates.

But the CFO's fugitive chieftain, Pedro Castorena-Ibarra, still controls operations from Mexico, agency investigators said, and the family enterprise continues to dominate the illicit document trade in the United States.

ICE agents are conducting more than 3,500 investigations nationwide into document forging. They've closed document mills in Charlotte, N.C.; Los Angeles; Denver; and several other cities in recent months.

But CFO cells continue to operate in many cities, including Dallas; Houston; Miami; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; New York; Chicago; Atlanta; and Newark, N.J.

Federal authorities said it's virtually impossible to calculate the financial scope of document forging, but illicit profits easily amount to many millions of dollars, if not billions.

One investigation of CFO operations in Los Angeles alone resulted in the seizure of 3 million documents with a street value of more than $20 million.

"We've hit them pretty hard, but have we shut down the entire operation? I don't think we can say that yet," said Scott Weber, chief of ICE's Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit in the agency's Washington headquarters.

"We know there are many different cells out there, and they are still providing documents."

Illegal immigrants are often given packages of phony documents as part of a $2,000 smuggling fee. Others can easily make contact with vendors who operate on street corners or at flea markets in immigrant communities in virtually every city.

The gold standard for document forgeries, investigators said, comes off the assembly line of the Castorena network.

The organization built its fortune by employing the same principles used by successful legitimate corporations: a superior product, franchises in major cities and a coast-to-coast sales force.

CFO counterfeiters microscopically study relevant U.S. documents and meticulously replicate virtually every detail, including some security features that are embedded into the laminate in an attempt to prevent duplication.

Analysts using high-tech equipment at the ICE document lab unfailingly spot forgeries, but the Castorena-produced documents can easily fool employers and even the trained eyes of police officers.

Castorena-Ibarra, one of ICE's 10 most wanted fugitives, allegedly started the operation with three brothers and two sisters after they entered the country and settled in the heavily Latino MacArthur Park section of Los Angeles.

In-laws and trusted lieutenants became part of the leadership as the network expanded across the country by charging "franchise fees" of up to $15,000 per month to run document mills.

For years, the organization supplied most of the nation's print stock of phony documents. Later, it distributed computer templates after the high-tech era opened the door to computerized counterfeiting, investigators said. Court documents from a Denver investigation describe the network as "intricately orchestrated and exceptionally well-organized."

The Castorenas forbid local operatives from drug trafficking and other sideline trades that would attract increased scrutiny from law enforcement, investigators said. They also regularly update their products to keep pace with government-mandated changes in official documents.

Castorena-Ibarra, 42, who fled to Mexico to escape federal indictments, still runs the organization, passing orders through surrogates in the United States, said Cory Voorhis, an ICE special agent in Denver.

ICE officials said they're working with Mexican authorities to return him to the United States, but the mustachioed fugitive moves frequently and changes cell phones every few days.

At one point, he was thought be living with his wife and son in a lavishly furnished home in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara. He travels frequently to Mexico City and is thought to have several mistresses. ICE also has received information that Castorena-Ibarra and other family members have invested in legitimate businesses such as real estate and taxicab companies.

"He's pretty comfortable," Voorhis said. "He believes he's safe."