At the news conference today, an FBI official said a major federal bust in 2010 of a largely Korean-run identify theft ring helped lead to today's takedown, calling it a "spinoff" from the earlier investigation
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Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerU.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman is pictured in this file photo from 2011.NEWARK — The Los Angeles man and ringleader, formerly of Fort Lee, placed a call to a co-conspirator who was a key figure in the fraudulent-document scheme, a multistate operation that allegedly helped scores of illegal immigrants — mostly from South Korea — obtain driver’s licenses and visas in the U.S., officials say.
Then, just two minutes later, officials say, the co-conspirator texted an on-the-take contract employee who was working inside a huge warehouse owned by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Feb. 2, 2012, coded text, they allege, said: "Need 200 (A) call me asap, please, valentines is coming."
Authorities say that meant the person texting needed 200 blank I-797 forms, which are accepted at many state motor vehicle agencies to prove a person’s lawful presence in the U.S.
And so went the inner-workings of a fraud that authorities contend ran for nearly two years, involving as many as 700 illegal transactions. The alleged scheme enriched some 22 defendants. Seventeen were arrested today and five remain at large, officials said. In addition to New Jersey, arrests were made in New York, California, Nevada, Virginia and Georgia.
Twenty defendants face charges of conspiracy to unlawfully produce identification documents (driver’s licenses) and false identification documents (passports). Two defendants face charges of conspiracy to steal government property and to transport and receive stolen property. And seven face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Alleged ringleader Young-Kyu Park is the only defendant charged with all three crimes.
The defendants, most of whom are Korean, authorities said, each played a part in a scam that "provided a suite of illegal services" to customers.
In an 84-page complaint, prosecutors allege the defendants — eight of whom live in Bergen County — would walk illegal immigrants through various steps to get and alter documents and then apply for driver’s licenses or visas.
The typical fee defendants such as Park, 54 would allegedly collect was between $3,000 and $4,500.
"Today’s charged conspiracy included brokers across the country who recruited and served customers looking for a valid driver’s license to legitimize their illegal presence in the United States," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement. Fishman and Michael Ward, the FBI’s chief in New Jersey, held an afternoon news conference, along with other federal and state officials, including Raymond Martinez, chief of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission — to discuss the bust.
The defendants "were able to circumvent established safeguards and proper vetting put into place post 9/11," Ward said. "The exploitation of this vulnerability is significant because identity-type frauds are a gateway crime. ... Individuals with falsely obtained identities are more likely to commit financial frauds, walk away from legal obligations, and are more difficult for law enforcement to identify and investigate."
At the news conference, Ward also said "the impact of this (crime) is passed along to innocent citizens," pointing out that as illegal immigrants gain access to the benefits of legal citizens, taxes and insurance costs go up for everyone.
Park’s co-conspirators include his 56-year-old wife and 29-year-old daughter, and the scheme even featured defendants placing bold advertisements in Korean newspapers and online with headings such as "New Jersey Driver’s License," authorities added.
One defendant, Martin Trejo, 45, was the contract employee working on the inside at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at its "Western Forms Center" in Montclair, Calif. The center, Fishman said, is the country’s largest warehouse for the I-797 forms. And those I-797s, he added — which are used to communicate with others or convey immigration benefits — are relied upon by state agencies issuing driver’s licenses to verify the authenticity of an applicant’s passport and the applicant’s lawful presence in the United States.
One version of the form can be used to show eligibility for in-state college tuition, Fishman also said.
Martinez said his agency can prevent future fraud involving the I-797s by a new method of checking the veracity of information listed on the forms.
At the news conference, Ward also noted a 2010 federal bust of a largely Korean-run identify-theft ring helped lead to today's takedown.
Ward said a defendant in the earlier bust — the so-called Golden Brokers case — flipped for the FBI and became an uncover informant in the current takedown. The cooperating witness, he said, infiltrated the Park-led ring and recorded key conversations among Park and co-conspirators.
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• Feds arrest 22 people in identity theft-ring involving illegal immigrants
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