Omaha Man Sentenced In Illegal Driver's License Ring
POSTED: 9:15 pm CDT June 25, 2008
UPDATED: 9:35 pm CDT June 25, 2008

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha man who helped run a national ring to get driver's licenses for illegal immigrants has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Saidjon Ibragimov pleaded guilty in federal court and is the fourth man convicted in the conspiracy.

Investigators said a man in New Jersey would line up illegals who wanted licenses, and put them in touch with Ibragamov.

A DMV employee in Florence told investigators in 2006 that a man who went by the name of Jon offered to pay her for Nebraska licenses. "Jon" turned out to Ibragimov, and immigration agents recorded conversations he later had with the employee.

"Every time the DMV employee spoke with any of the suspects, we had her wired up and we recorded the conversations," said Brent Morral of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The tapes recorded Ibragimov agreeing to pay $200 each for a license.

When Ibragimov's brother showed up at the DMV office with an illegal immigrant in May 2007, agents were watching. They saw him hand over a pink envelope with $200 inside.

Investigators said Ibragimov brought people from countries all over the world to Omaha to get illegal licenses and let them stay at his apartment. He gave the DMV agent $4,000 and seven passports, and implied that he could line up 100,000 customers. He said unless Nebraska changed its license design, business would be steady.

"If it's going to stay keep, being like that, keep coming like that," he was taped saying, "you're going to be a millionaire."

Agents arrested Ibragimov and 14 other people two days after that conversation took place. In addition to the four people convicted in the conspiracy, nine others face fraud and bribery charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said none of the men are suspected in any kind of terrorist involvement.

http://www.ketv.com/news/16712772/detail.html