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One of two masterminds in fraudulent immigration IDs gets 7 years
posted by: Paola Farer Web Producer

Created: 12/21/2005 9:17 PM MST - Updated: 12/21/2005 9:19 PM MST

DENVER (AP) - One of two brothers who prosecutors believe are the masterminds behind one of the largest fraudulent identification production organizations in the U.S. was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison.


Francisco Javier Castorena-Ibarra, 46, of Mexico City, pleaded guilty in October to charges of money laundering proceeds from sales of counterfeit documents, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

An indictment handed up in July alleges Castorena-Ibarra and his brother, Pedro Castorena-Ibarra, conspired to produce counterfeit immigration identification documents. Pedro Castorena-Ibarra remains at large.

According to prosecutors, Francisco Javier Castorena-Ibarra conspired to manufacture, for a fee, counterfeit alien registration receipt cards, Social Security cards and other forms of identification for foreign nationals to use illegally in the United States. Castorena-Ibarra or those employed by him wired the money from the sales to others in Mexico, California, and elsewhere, according to his plea agreement.

"At the highest level, counterfeit immigration and identification documents can enable terrorists to move freely within the United States," U.S. Attorney Bill Leone said in a statement. "At the lowest level, these documents hamper law enforcement efforts to determine the true identity of someone they come into contact with."