Inside ICE: Volume 2, Issue 16

ICE Gets Indictment On Fake Doc Kingpin

DENVER, Colo.—A federal grand jury in Denver, Colo., has indicted a Mexican man who ran an international criminal organization responsible for the illegal production and distribution of counterfeit identification documents in cities throughout the United States.

Pedro Castorena-Ibarra, 42, of Guadalajara, Mexico, is believed to be hiding in Mexico. The U.S. government plans to file a formal request for his extradition with the government of Mexico. To date, more than 50 members of his organization have been prosecuted in Denver and 20 computerized counterfeit document labs have been seized around the country.

Marcy Forman, Director of Investigations for ICE, said, “This criminal organization represents one of the largest and most sophisticated document fraud rings ever uncovered, so much so that it set up franchises in most major U.S. cities and counterfeited dozens of types of documents. Fraudulent documents can be provided to terrorists and other criminals, posing a major homeland security vulnerability. Working with our law enforcement partners, ICE will continue to identify and shut down these vulnerabilities.”

The indictment of Castorena-Ibarra follows a five-year investigation by ICE agents in Denver, with assistance from the IRS, the Social Security Administration Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The investigation began in October 2000 when ICE agents began investigating the sale and distribution of counterfeit identity documents in Denver. During the course of the investigation Castorena-Ibarra was identified as the leader of a large scale criminal organization involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards, Mexico Matricula Consular ID cards, driver’s licenses and identity documents from various states of Mexico and the United States.

The investigation revealed that Castorena-Ibarra and other members of his criminal organization have been involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents in numerous cities throughout the United States. Investigators found that previous investigations conducted in Los Angeles and other cities dating back to the late 1980s also targeted members of the Castorena-Ibarra family and organization.

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Deported Alien Gets 12 Years For Repeat Re-Entry Into U.S.

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Inside ICE is an e-newsletter produced by the ICE Office of Public Affairs to inform the public about the mission, operations and activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Please send comments and contributions to Russ Bergeron, Editor.

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