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NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA

John L. Brownlee
United States Attorney

Brian McGinn
Public Affairs Specialist
BB&T Building
310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906
Roanoke, Virginia 24011
(540) 857-2974
FAX (540) 857-2179

March 11, 2008

EIGHT INDIVIDUALS CHARGED WITH CONSPIRING TO VIOLATE
FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS

United States Attorney John L. Brownlee, Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, and Mark McGraw, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Washington D.C. Field Office, announced today that a federal Grand Jury has charged eight individuals for conspiring to violate federal immigration laws, aggravated identity fraud, and conspiring to commit identity fraud. The eight defendants were charged in a federal indictment that arose from an investigation begun by agents of ICE. The investigation uncovered a multi-state conspiracy to obtain and sell unlawful Ohio identification cards that were distributed to illegal aliens in the Western District of Virginia and elsewhere. Also, federal agents arrested four additional illegal aliens this morning.

“Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is one of our highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney John Brownlee. “Had this conspiracy not been stopped, many more illegal aliens would have obtained identification papers making it extremely difficult for law enforcement to identify and deport them. In addition, these enforcement programs are necessary to protect our borders from illegal entry. These enforcement efforts are intended to guarantee that critical points of entry, such as airports, are not breeched by those who wish to do harm to law abiding citizens of the United States. I want to thank the outstanding efforts of the all the state and federal agents and prosecutors who worked tirelessly on this investigation and are on the front lines protecting the integrity of our borders and safety of the United States’ citizens.”

“We are a nation of laws and these laws must be obeyed. Document fraud is one among many crimes contributing to the nationwide problem of illegal immigration,” said Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell. “Significant joint law enforcement initiatives such as this are critical to preserving our security within and outside of the Commonwealth. I appreciate the hard work and dedication of all involved in this successful operation.”

“Today’s charges reflect the law enforcement community’s steadfast commitment to dismantling organizations and prosecuting individuals who sell other people’s identities for profit and assume other people’s identities to skirt the law,” said Mark McGraw, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Washington D.C. Field office. “This is not a victimless crime. The individuals whose identities are stolen will spend their time and expense unraveling the fraud perpetrated in their names. The nation is more vulnerable when identities are bought and sold.”

The Grand Jury returned a three-count indictment charging Edwin Roberto Mendez, age 32, of Harrisonburg, Christina Dawn Cheatham, age 23, of Columbus, Ohio, Jose Antonio Gutierrez-Ramirez, age 34, of Columbus, Ohio, Nekeia Mack-Fuller, age 29, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Luis M. Rosado-Rodriguez, age 29, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Jairo Gomez, age 32, of Harrisonburg, Juan LNU, age unknown, of Harrisonburg, and Michelle Eckerman, age 27, of Canal Winchester, Ohio. All have been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Roanoke, Virginia on charges related to the operation of a counterfeit identification ring.

The charges are as follows:

According to the indictment, all eight of the accused have been charged with conspiring to produce, transfer, possess and use unlawful identification documents between January 2004 and February 2008.

The conspiracy was designed to allow the defendants to enrich themselves by fraudulent means through the trafficking of identity documents and State of Ohio identity cards. Furthermore, the use of Puerto Rican birth certificates and matching Social Security cards prevented detection of the true identity of individuals purchasing those identity documents.

According to the indictment, Mendez, Gomez and Juan LNU lived in the Commonwealth of Virginia and served as recruiters for the conspiracy. The three recruited individuals who were looking to purchase Puerto Rican birth certificates and matching social security cards. Those documents, which were authentic, were provided by Rosado-Rodriguez. Rosado-Rodriguez sold the documents to other ID vendors, such as Mendez, Gomez and Juan LNU.

Mendez, along with Gomez and Juan LNU, then sold the documents to illegal aliens looking to obtain identification documents. The three then made arrangements, including providing transportation, for the purchasers to travel to Ohio in order to illegally obtain Ohio identification documents.

According to the indictment, once in Ohio, the purchasers were transported to a staging area headed by Gutierrez-Ramirez and Cheatham, who served as brokers for the conspiracy. Gutierrez-Ramirez and Cheatham resided in Ohio and provided the purchasers with instructions and transportation to a Scarborough Boulevard Deputy Registrar Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) office in Colombus, Ohio. Ohio identification documents, including drivers licenses are distributed out of this office.

Once at the BMV office, Gutierrez-Ramirez and Cheatham acted as interpreters for the purchasers during the identification application process, according to the indictment.

Eckerman and Mack-Fuller were employees of the BMV office. Eckerman worked as a clerk and Mack-Fuller was a manager, however both processed applications for identity cards and drivers licenses. On several occasions, Eckerman and Mack-Fuller processed applications and issued Ohio identification cards to individuals presenting Puerto Rican birth certificates and matching social security cards that were transported to the BMV by Gutierrez-Ramirez and/or Cheatham.

The investigation is ongoing to determine whether other parties are culpable in the conspiracy to circumvent the Department of Homeland Security’s effort to identify those individuals who are in the United States illegally and to protect key points of entry.

If convicted on all counts, the maximum penalty faced by the defendants is as follows:

The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Labor Office of Labor, Racketeering and Fraud Investigation, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations for the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia . Assistant United States Attorney C. Patrick Hogeboom, III, will prosecute the case. Mr. Hogeboom will be assisted by Special Assistants Adam Goldman, Immigration and Custom Enforcement Assistant Counsel and Commonwealth of Virginia Assistant Attorney General Phillip Figura.

A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.