(Press Release) Five Madera residents were arrested late Wednesday night in connection with operating a fake driver license and identification card mill, the Department of Motor Vehicles announced.
Four men -- 24-year-old Juan Vasquez Jimenez, 25-year-old Fernando Garcia Martinez, 34-year-old Arcenio Ruiz Bautista, and 28-year-old Vigilio Martinez -- were taken into custody by DMV Investigators on multiple felony counts of allegedly possessing counterfeit driver licenses, and, U.S. Permanent Resident and Social Security cards. A fifth man, 27-year-old Misael Martinez-Cervantes, was charged with allegedly forging counterfeit licenses and identification documents, falsifying state seals, and possession of the aforementioned documents. All are being held without bail in the Madera County Jail.
“Our message is this: if you are engaging in the fraudulent manufacturing of any government document, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” said DMV Director George Valverde. “Ensuring the security of driver licenses and identification cards is a top priority, and we simply will not tolerate illegal activity.”
DMV Investigators, working with the Madera County Sheriffs Department and City of Madera Police, along with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, served search warrants at multiple residences last night. During the search warrant, investigators seized copying equipment, large quantities of counterfeit government document manufacturing materials, as well as completed government documents and documents in the process of being manufactured.
The operation concluded a five-month investigation that began in September 2011, when the Madera Sheriff’s Department, working with an informant, obtained information that led investigators to a fake driver license and ID mill being run out of a Madera residence.
Specific charges are pending with the Madera County District Attorney’s Office.
TXT 24
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