Police say three ran forgery ring in Cherokee County

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 4, 2010
Atlanta, GA

Suspects charged with making fake IDs for sale to illegal immigrants.
Alexis Stevens; Staff

Two men and a woman were arrested in Cherokee County for allegedly operating a counterfeiting ring that police said might have provided fake identification to hundreds of illegal immigrants.

Miguel Lopez-Garcia, 27, Kevin Martinez-Ortiz, 28, and Maria Asuncion-Real, 38, each living in the country illegally, were taken into custody late Wednesday night.

They have been charged with second-degree forgery and are being held on $2,400 bond, said Lt. Jay Baker, Cherokee County Sheriff's spokesman.

The suspects have been accused of making and selling drivers licenses, green cards, birth certificates and Social Security cards.

Deputies found printers, laminating equipment, paper and images of U.S. and Mexican government seals inside a Towne Lake apartment that housed the three in custody and Asuncion-Real's two children.

The arrested men have ties to metro Atlanta's 18th Street Gang, a connection that prompted Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) to weigh in on the local arrest and the much debated border issue.

"The arrest of these suspected aliens on serious criminal charges highlights again why America's border enforcement remains the key to securing our nation and our communities," Rogers said.

"The idea that members of this violent 18th Street Gang is living in and around our neighborhoods should send shock waves through our community."

Deputies used a search warrant to recover $15,725 and computers from the apartment. Investigators also found evidence that indicated the suspects had sent at least $75,000 to Mexico, Baker said.

The operation was exposed after Whitfield County authorities arrested two people on Wednesday on charges of selling fake documents to undercover agents and found a connection to Cherokee County. The police in the northwest Georgia county tipped Cherokee officials.

"They acted on it quickly," Baker said.

The confiscated computers will be examined to determine the extent of the operation, but investigators said the illegal business might had been in operation for several months.

The alleged counterfeiters received $200 for an ID card with someone else's information, or a "non-clean" card, and $800 for ID with information not assigned to anyone else, or a "clean" card, Baker said.

Asuncion-Real's two children have been put in DFACS custody and immigration officials have been notified, Baker said.

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