Pennsylvania man sentenced for producing, possessing various fake US government agency credentials

PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Tuesday for producing and possessing fraudulent government credentials. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Dwight R. Spaulding, 44, of Duquesne, Pa., pleaded guilty in federal court and was immediately sentenced to one year probation and fined $1,000. U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton, Western District of Pennsylvania, announced Spaulding’s sentence.

"Criminals like Spaulding, who produce and possess fraudulent government ID documents, pose a serious threat to our national security," said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. "HSI continues to diligently work with our law enforcement partners to bring individuals engaged in this criminal activity to justice."

There was no evidence that Spaulding had ever used the fraudulent credentials.

HSI special agents interviewed Spaulding at his home April 15, 2010, concerning a package he had received the previous day that was shipped from Spain. HSI special agents suspected the package contained false identification documents. Spaulding showed the agents his wallet, which contained a fraudulent National Security Agency (NSA) badge, a fraudulent Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) badge, and fake U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) credentials. Each of the fraudulent documents contained Spaulding’s name and photo, other identifying information for Spaulding, and identified Spaulding as an agent or deputy.

Spaulding advised the agents that he had ordered the NSA and DEA credentials and that both credentials had been in the package he received the previous day. Spaulding told the agents that he produced the U.S. Marshals Service credentials on his home computer, and that he simply "photo shopped" his photograph and other identifying information onto the template for the credentials.

Agents made a mirror image of the hard drive of Spaulding's computer and discovered the file in which Spaulding had created the fraudulent USMS credentials. Court documents revealed that the credentials were an exact likeness of genuine USMS credentials and that Spaulding was not a deputy U.S. Marshal and did not have the authority to possess the fraudulent credentials.