Thread: Oregon-2 Arrested In $100,000 TriMet Ticket Forging Case

2 Arrested In $100,000 TriMet Ticket Forging Case

http://www.kptv.com/news/19996436/detail.html

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A two-month investigation into forged TriMet bus tickets resulted in two arrests Tuesday night, police said.

Officers arrested Jaime Camaal-Balam, 26, and Gabriel Bedolla-Medina, 29, in connection with the ticket forging that police estimated has lost TriMet more than $100,000 in the last several months.

The case began with complaints from TriMet about a large number of forged and false tickets being used mostly on buses all over the Portland area, police said.

After investigating for months, officers served two search warrants on Tuesday and made two traffic stops, during which they found thousands of dollars worth of forged tickets.

The quality of the forged instruments was very good and difficult to distinguish from valid tickets, police said.

The district attorney is still determining what charges the men will face but police said conviction of manufacturing and distribution of forged TriMet tickets is a felony which could result in a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of $125,000 or more.

Police warned the public that anyone using or possessing a forged ticket could be arrested and banned from using TriMet for at least 90 days.

Officers said they anticipate more arrests in the case and the investigation is ongoing.
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A search of the sheriff's inmate roster shows both suspects are on ICE holds.

Oh....great! The bus company loses money and then the taxpayers have to pay to put the perps behinds bars. Is anyone keeping a tally on how many hundreds of billions Mexico owes us at this point for rehabbing their criminals?