LPD: Illegal alien faked thousands of IDs

March 13, 2007 01:39 PM PDT




An illegal immigrant is in jail after allegedly falsifying thousands of immigration and Social Security cards in Jones County. And one of the identities stolen might have been yours.

Jose Vega faces 40 criminal charges for the misuse of Social Security cards. Authorities say about six months ago people from all over the U.S. starting calling to say that the IRS was reporting they had income from companies in Laurel.

"When we started to track a lot of that down we were able to discover that this individual was manufacturing various forms of identification," says Laurel police investigator Michael Reaves.

Identification such as Social Security cards, passports, and resident alien cards. Several of these cards could have some Mississippi residents sitting on edge.

"Possession or manufacturing of a false Social Security card can lead to a penalty up 10 years in jail," Reeves says. "These particular cards, a lot of them, have 426, 427 [as] the first three numbers on the cards, so if could very well be someone locally whose Social Security number is being used in this case."

Laurel police say they don't have the authority to arrest illegal immigrants working or living in the U.S. with stolen or improper documentation. That's a matter for federal agents to handle

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