Some here snagged in fake ID-passport sting




UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

12:11 p.m. September 16, 2008

SAN DIEGO – A handful of San Diego County residents have been arrested in a national sting targeting people who fraudulently obtained U.S. passports by assuming a deceased person's identity, officials announced Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic security said it was the largest investigation of its kind. Dubbed Operation Deathmatch, it was conducted in July and August and netted 112 arrests.


Authorities cross-referenced government death records with Department of State records and identified people suspected of obtaining passports with the identities of deceased Americans.
Charges have been filed in 16 states against most of the suspects, many of whom surrendered to authorities, officials said. Some other suspects have not been apprehended. Federal passport offenses carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Besides assuming their identity, many of the suspects lived and worked in the same areas the deceased people lived. In some cases, the suspects' neighbors, employers and relatives didn't know their true names, officials said.

They include fugitives, military deserters, delinquent taxpayers, parolees, convicted felons, sex-offenders, habitual drunk drivers and illegal immigrants from 20 countries, officials said. The six people apprehended locally lived in San Diego, El Cajon and Chula Vista.


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