Crafting illegal documents is a concern when it comes to homeland security. Not only is it a crime, it leaves the door open for terrorists or other criminals to change identities, purchase property, and move around the country leaving a confusing paper trail, all leading to immeasurable national security concerns.
One of the largest operations of counterfeit documents has been hit in Denver. It ties into the Mexican crime family of fugitive Pedro Castorena-Ibarra . Indicted in July 2005 for money laundering, his organization is known to have more than 200 active core members operating throughout the United States . “As long as Pedro Castorena-Ibarra is a fugitive in Mexico [Country Profile], he will continue to send people into the United States or he’ll continue to recruit people in the United States to use various techniques and produce these documents,” said Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. “The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security have substantially disrupted his organization by seizing the equipment they use and putting the people who are responsible in prison,” Dorschner said. “But as long as Pedro Castorena-Ibarra is a fugitive, he will be able to continue to recruit new people, acquire new technology and continue to perpetrate this crime.”
The workers within a ?cell? created a one-stop shopping haven for forged alien registrations, Social Security cards, drivers? licenses, birth certificates, and insurance cards. “These tools help the criminal conceal his identity, gain access to places and benefits to which they should not have access, and can facilitate identity and other forms of theft,” said Bill Leone, U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. “They serve as a one-stop shop not only for illegal immigrants, but for drug smugglers, money launderers and potential terrorists.” Real estate transactions in an investigation revealed illegal documents were created and used to purchase more than 300 homes valued at more than $51 million. Activities of document forgers linked to Castorena-Ibarra included the payment of franchise fees as high as $15,000 a month to maintain participation in the network of phony document creators. Fraudulent wire transfers across the border cost American Express an estimated loss of $2 million. The real estate losses cost FHA millions in their insurance fund in Metro Denver in 2005, resulting in many prosecutions or deportation from the crime spree. “We will likely never know all the terrible ramifications supported by the counterfeit documents this organization created,? stated Jeffrey Copp from Denver?s ICE office which covers Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Fraud shops were opened in Colorado, California, Illinois, Georgia, Nebraska, and Iowa. Money from operations was funneled back to Mexico and elsewhere. Volume and quantity has said to be ?staggering.? Looking at Los Angeles, thousands of documents were recovered with estimated street value of $20 million and created 400 investigations tied to 50 cities.
The operations also create ?turf wars? between crime families. Local law enforcement then teams with federal and state investigators to quash the resulting violence.
What made this case particularly interesting is that the organization produced high quality documents that made detection extremely difficult. Technology was highly perfected to create their fake documents. “Thirty years ago, if you wanted to produce a really good-quality fraudulent document, you had to have some major equipment and a lot of expertise,” Rusnock said. “But technology has advanced so much that you don’t need two decades of expertise and you don’t need all that equipment.”
Federal and local law enforcement must continue working on the cases that stemmed from the Castorena-Iberra crime family. No one yet knows the extent of fabricated documents currently being used or the crimes they might have facilitated. These investigations take major resources in people and time, but they are critical in helping to secure the US homeland from those who wish us ill.