RB Man Arrested in Fake ID Scheme

Nearly two dozen people were arrested in the Southland on Thursday—including a Redondo Beach man—on suspicion of taking part in a phony document ring centered in the MacArthur Park area and extending throughout the country.

According to indictments filed in U.S. District Court and unsealed today, Los Angeles resident Alejandro Morales Serrano, 45, is accused of being the ringleader of the group which sold thousands of fake identification cards, including green cards, Social Security cards and driver's licenses, each month in MacArthur Park and elsewhere.

Redondo Beach resident Anthony Little, 46, was arrested Thursday morning along with Los Angeles resident Jose Antonio Espino Chavez, 52, in connection with the scheme. They will be charged in the federal criminal complaint, authorities said.

The indictment alleges that Serrano and his co-conspirators dealt in the raw materials used in the manufacture of false driver's licenses for about 40 states and Mexico during the previous several years.

Those materials include sheets of plastic laminates bearing false authentication features that replicate legitimate seals used by the United States and Mexican governments, according to federal officials.

Court papers indicate that Serrano was allegedly overheard on a wiretap discussing his decade-long participation in the false document business.

In a related case worked jointly by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, several people operating in the El Monte area were allegedly identified in a conspiracy to manufacture bogus documents with materials supplied by Serrano and others, authorities said.

The fake ID cards were apparently used by illegal immigrants to find work, prove citizenship and enjoy residency-related benefits, officials said.

Additionally, the ring's phony papers played a part in such crimes as credit and bank fraud, tax fraud, identity theft and drug diversion schemes, according to the FBI.

As a result of federal search warrants, plastic laminates used to produce the fraudulent documents, a variety of phony documents, computers and other items used in the scheme were seized, the FBI said.

Aside from Serrano, the following people were charged in the federal indictments:

• Maria Susana Garcia, 44, of Los Angeles
• Victor Hugo Ramirez, 43, of Los Angeles
• Senen Chavez Aparicio, 42, of West Covina
• Ricardo Castanon, identified in the indictment as "Vampiro," 46, of Los Angeles
• Vidal Perez, 50, of Los Angeles
  William A. Rodriguez, 28, of Los Angeles
• Martha Cortes, 45, of Moreno Valley
• Jesus Mendez Cruz, 39, Santa Maria
  Javier Perez-Herrera of Illinois
• Jose L. Rodriguez Ortiz, aka "Junior," of Illinois
• Correa Luis Acevedo, 51, El Monte
• Alfredo Enriquez Bernal, 37, of East Los Angeles
• Gerardo Villagran Giezi, 36, of El Monte
• Daniel Dominguez Rosas, 36, of El Monte
• Armando Medina, listed in the indictment as "Barbas," age unknown, of Los Angeles

Los Angeles residents Cesar Vargas Santiago, 35, and Bobby Langley, 46, as well as Van Nuys resident Osayanse Abu Obaroghedo, 53, were arrested in Los Angeles on related state charges, according to the FBI.

Law-enforcement agents are also looking for seven people in connection with the scheme. They were not identified in the news release.

If convicted, the defendants face prison sentences of up to 15 years on fraudulent document charges.

City News Service contributed to this report.