Thread: Open Air Fake ID Market Taken Down

Seized fake government IDs.

Queens Tribune Online
October 20, 6:52 AM
Open Air Fake ID Market Taken Down
By MICHAEL CUSENZA

The long, oak table that anchors the center of the third-floor conference room in the Queens District Attorney’s office was littered Tuesday afternoon with driver’s licenses from various states, reams of blank Social Security cards, resident alien cards, printers, cell phones, laminating machines and other hardware you can pick up at any Staples store.

These were the fruits of a massive, bi-coastal inter-agency investigation of a fraudulent government identity operation whose Queens cells allegedly sold a host of fake documents on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights – considered by law enforcement officials as the epicenter of such activity on the East Coast.

Queens DA Richard Brown, joined by officials from various city, state and federal agencies, announced that 41 people have been indicted – 20 are in custody, 21 were still being sought – on charges of operating or participating in two criminal enterprises that took in more than $1.5 million a year by supplying fake government IDs, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards and driver’s licenses, to people across the country.

Among those indicted were Artemio and Julia Medel of California, a notorious husband and wife team that allegedly supplied blank templates of identification documents to individual cells. They are currently awaiting extradition to New York.

“This is perhaps the most important case we’ve seen in this area in a very long time,â€

Until the day comes that we secure the border, I suggest that you turn them over to Sheriff Joe for imprisonment.

They had a similar bust in Chicago (the father of a hispanic politician) was running his operation for several years. I'm sure there are 10 more to replace each one they raid. Frankly, I think the only reason they advertise these busts is to get us to start thinking that their Real ID will be a great substitution.