Weld DA files appeal involving fraud by illegal immigrants
ID probe blocked
By Monte Whaley

Posted: 04/18/2009 12:30:00 AM MDT
Updated: 04/18/2009 12:34:16 AM MDT


Weld District Attorney Ken Buck wants to resume investigation.

GREELEY — Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck is asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to overturn a judge's decision that stopped his investigation of identity theft involving illegal immigrants.

Buck's lawyer, Lisa Ho gan, filed a notice of appeal late this week in hopes of reinstating "Operation Numbers Game." The probe targeted illegal immigrants who were accused of using stolen ID cards, as well as fake or stolen Social Security numbers.

Weld sheriff's deputies in October searched Amalia's Translation and Tax Service in Greeley, where they took more than 5,000 files of tax records. About 100 people were arrested on fraud charges after the records were seized; some of them were deported.

But the American Civil Liberties Union sued Buck and Weld Sheriff John Cooke, saying the search of Amalia Cerrillo's tax preparation office was illegal and a violation of privacy rights.

Monday, Judge James Hiatt agreed with the ACLU, shelving Operation Numbers Game and ordering the county to return all the tax files to Amalia's.

But late this week — after both sides agreed — the tax files were returned to the court.

Investigators say the files contain more than 1,000 Social Security numbers that were used illegally, as well as notes and other material used in the county's investigation of ID theft, Hogan said.

"Handing over all of that would have been ludicrous," Hogan said. "We came to an administrative truce."

The records will be kept with the district court until the appeal is settled.

Hogan said Buck is confident the Appeals Court will side with him. Hiatt's ruling, she added, overlooked the reason for the search of Amalia's in the first place. "There is not one mention of the victims of this case, the people whose IDs were used fraudulently," she said.

Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU, said there is little reason to believe Hiatt's ruling will be set aside. "We believe our arguments are right and are gratified that the judge saw it that way," Silverstein said.

Monte Whaley: mwhaley@denverpost.com



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