GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Indictment: Ring traded in phony IDs for illegals

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: The Washington Times

25February2011 6:00pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: A federal grand jury in Richmond has indicted 22 members of a suspected fraudulent-document-trafficking ring based in Mexico with cells in 19 U.S. cities and 11 states that reportedly sold high-quality phony identification cards to illegal immigrants and used beatings, kidnappings and murder in dealing with competitors and disciplining its own members.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said the sophisticated operation, uncovered as part of a law enforcement initiative known as Operation Phalanx, was managed in this country by Israel Cruz Millan, 28, of Raleigh, N.C., who oversaw the production of false identification cards that sold on the street for $150 to $200 each — which netted his Mexican bosses more than $1 million from January 2008 to November 2010.

According to the 12-count indictment, Mr. Cruz Millan placed a manager in each U.S. city, all of whom supervised a number of “runners” who distributed business cards advertising the organization’s services and helped facilitate transactions with customers. The cost of the phony documents varied depending on location and included counterfeit Resident Alien and Social Security cards.

The indictment said each cell maintained detailed sales records and divided the proceeds among the runner, the cell manager and the upper-level managers in Mexico. (read full report)

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