July 09, 2006 08:06 AM EST

by Jim Kouri - SPRINGFIELD, MA -- Three Springfield men were arrested Wednesday on charges that they sold fraudulent Tennessee license plates in the Springfield area. Two of the men face other charges as well.

Melvin Morales Berdugo, age 23, Victor Manuel Escalante, age 27, and Wilfredo Diaz-Gonzalez, age 28, were charged in an indictment with a mail fraud scheme involving the sale of Tennessee license plates to illegal aliens living in the Springfield, Massachusetts, area. Berdugo and Diaz-Gonzalez also were charged with possession of document-making implements and Berdugo was charged with possession of a false Alien Registration Receipt Card, commonly known as a “green card.”

The indictment alleges that Berdugo, Escalante and Diaz-Gonzalez engaged in a mail fraud scheme, sending Postal Money Orders to an individual in Tennessee in return for Tennessee license plates obtained through false and fraudulent representations. The defendants distributed the license plates in the Springfield, Massachusetts, areas to individuals who could not register their cars in Massachusetts because the did not have Massachusetts driver's licenses.

If convicted on these charges, the defendants face up to 20 years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/15976.html