"A to Z" Autoshop; Including DLs and IDs

FBI, state, task force busts megabucks, nationwide ID theft ring in the Show Me state; gangsters exploited Missouri’s non-REAL ID compliant DMV procedures

Nearly all the victims listed in the federal grand jury indictment whose identities were stolen by the identity theft ring had Hispanic last names, as the gang deliberately went to great lengths to rehearse their clients to represent they were born in the United States. Missouri’s refusal to adopt security upgrades spelled out in the REAL ID regulations created the identity integrity loopholes through which the gang members drove busloads of illegal immigrants from distant states. Fourteen defendants named in a federal grand jury indictment issued in Kansas City, MO, allegedly formed the conspiracy that garnered more than $5 million by selling stolen identities and related services to more than 3,500 customers.

The alleged gang members utilized the Missouri Department of Revenue license office in St Joseph to obtain Missouri driver’s licenses or non-driver’s ID for their clients, who paid $1,500 to $1,600. In return for those payments, the conspirators provided unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards as well as bogus Missouri residential addresses. The Missouri-based gang members allegedly worked with two confederates who operated in San Antonio, Texas, where they purchased state issued birth certificates and federal Social Security cards. Customers of the identity theft ring presented those documents to the St. Joseph, MO.

DMV, where they also attested that they had been born in the US. The St. Joseph defendants allegedly accompanied the illegal immigrant customers to the Missouri DMV office under the guise of being translators. Their services included instruction and assistance to the illegal immigrants in memorizing the names, birthdates, Social Security numbers and other details associated with their hijacked identities.

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