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Driver's license fraud alleged
DMV office manager and wife charged with selling phony licenses
BY PAUL BRADLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 13, 2005


RELATED: Police Beat

ALEXANDRIA -- The manager of a DMV office in Springfield and his wife were arrested yesterday on charges they sold phony Virginia driver's licenses for up to $3,500 each to illegal immigrants.

The office is in Springfield Mall, about 3 miles from the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Franconia, where seven of the Sept. 11 hijackers obtained bogus Virginia ID cards.

Francisco J. Martinez, 57, and Miriam Martinez, 56, both of Stafford, each were arrested on federal charges of conspiracy to commit document fraud, a crime that carries a potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Illegal immigrant held
Also arrested yesterday was Daniel Jose Guardia Lopez, 25, an illegal immigrant from Bolivia now living in Alexandria.

According to court papers, Lopez confessed to his role in the phony document scheme and implicated the Martinez couple in it. Lopez told authorities he found clients -- most illegal immigrants from his native Bolivia -- for the scheme, collecting $500 for each customer he brought to the Martinez couple.

In all, court papers said, Francisco and Miriam Martinez provided bogus licenses to about 50 people between January 2001 and this month. The final two transactions, however, involved undercover police officers, resulting in yesterday's arrests.

Court papers said Martinez has worked for the DMV since 1990 and has managed the DMV office in Springfield Mall since April 2001. His wife worked as a DMV clerk in Tysons Corner from 1996 to 1998 and for a short time in 2003.

"This agency will not tolerate illegal activity in any of our offices," said DMV Commissioner D.B. Smit.

'Critical' to commerce
U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty called the alleged conduct of the Martinezes "reprehensible."

"We must aggressively safeguard our identification systems. The integrity of state driver's licenses is critical to our commerce as well as our national security."

According to court papers, applicants would pay a fee of between $2,000 and $3,500 and then be directed to go to the DMV office.

When the applicant's name was called, Francisco Martinez would issue a driver's license without verifying required information, court papers said. Most of the time, the immigrant wouldn't even have to fill out an application.

Martinez also falsely certified that the applicant had surrendered a license from another state, court papers said. The applicant would then be photographed and be given a license.

The DMV and the General Assembly have been working on tightening licensing procedures ever since it was learned that seven of the Sept. 11 hijackers had phony Virginia identification cards. Applicants for drivers licenses must now provide two forms of identification: proof of legal residence in the state and proof of Social Security number.

McNulty said this case shows the steps are having an impact.

"A few years ago, one could fraudulently obtain a driver's license for about $100," he said.

"It now takes up to $3,500 and the involvement of a corrupt clerk. This suggests our enforcement efforts with DMV are making fraud more difficult, riskier and more costly."