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07/07/03
Over
July 1and 2, the FBI arrested six individuals
on federal charges of identification fraud
and social security fraud. Two of the subjects
worked for the Virginia Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) and allegedly produced and sold
authentic Virginia driver's licenses, with
the help of co-conspirators, to nonresidents
and other unqualified persons.
Mike
Rolince, FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge
of the Washington Field Office, said about
the investigation: "Remember that the
9/11 terrorists used fake driver's licenses
to hide in plain sight and ultimately to turn
American services against the American people.
Since that time, we've been especially focused
on the integrity of driver's licenses and other
forms of identification. Our preliminary investigation
in today's case suggests that this scam began
in 1998 and has produced some 1000 fraudulent
licenses. We are glad to think we have put
these people out of business."
Consuelo
Onate-Banzon and Rony Razon allegedly issued
genuine licenses and falsified DMV records
to indicate their "clients" were
Virginians who had recently moved to Virginia
from another state, then collected a fee of
$800 to $1600 for each of the "services." If
convicted, the six subjects of the investigation
face a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment
and a fine of $250,000.
The
year-long investigation was spearheaded by
agents of the Virginia Department of Motor
Vehicles and the FBI and assisted by agents
of the Social Security Administration.
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