Beauty Salon Houses Illicit Operation, 6News Hidden Cam Shows


INDIANAPOLIS -- Government-issued IDs that take weeks or months to obtain legitimately are turning up on the streets of Indianapolis in about two hours.

A 6News hidden camera investigation found that various fake federal IDs were available at a store that looks like a beauty salon from the outside, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported.

All customers needed to produce was cash and a post-it note with a name and address to secure a permanent resident card, known as a green card.

The card cannot legally be obtained from any source in Indianapolis.

Horacio Cortez, who runs the Cortez Agency from inside Sammy's Salon on West 38th Street, said the business works with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to help people with titles and plates, but Sanchez reported it also sells phony federal ID cards.

For $120, the agency provides a green card with a fingerprint. A picture is included in the price, and the store will throw in a Social Security card as part of the deal. The IDs are typically available to be picked up within a couple of hours.

6News visited the store on different days at different hours and came away with phony IDs on each occasion.

When Sanchez interviewed Cortez, he denied selling green cards, even after he was shown a couple of fake cards for which he had taken money.

"You say green cards from us? No, never." Cortez said, before referring 6News to a lawyer whose name he didn't provide.

Since Sept. 11, federal prosecutors have cracked down on people who put national security at risk, including those who create or use fake federal documents to hide their identities.

"The people who promulgated, to the extent they are counterfeiting, forging federal documents -- they will be investigated and prosecuted," said U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett.

While the Cortez Agency claimed to sell green cards and other identification with the latest holograms and security features, the documents produced are full of misspellings, Sanchez reported.

The owner of the beauty salon said he rents space to Cortez and was unaware of any illegal activity in his building. He told 6News not to come into his salon again.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/26828361/detail.html