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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY |
Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
March 12, 2003 Three Million Dollars in Counterfeit New York – Tens of thousands of fraudulent government identity documents with a street value of more than three million dollars were seized yesterday after Special Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") arrested two foreign nationals who were engaged in a fraudulent document scheme. "This seizure is a significant blow to the counterfeit document underground," said Michael Garcia, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Those who perpetrate document fraud pose a serious risk to national security and will continue to be a focus of our enforcement actions." Among the documents seized were blank social security cards, driver’s licenses from ten states ranging from New York to California, resident alien cards, marriage certificates and employment authorization cards for foreign nationals. In addition, document printing equipment and supplies - such as printing plates, laser color copiers, typewriters, ink laminating materials, seals and stamps - were confiscated. Detecting and confiscating fraudulent documents is a priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement because these documents could pose a serious threat to our safety and national security if in the hands of criminals. The case will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. ### |
Last Modified 03/20/2003