MIAMI (AP) - Investigators have arrested more than 20 people as part of a counterfeit ring that forged immigration documents to get real Florida driver licenses.
The Miami Herald reports 47-year-old Valois Nunez Artelis has been charged with masterminding the scheme. He faces trial later this month in federal court.
Prosecutors say Nunez posed as an immigration officer and falsified a document provided by the immigration enforcement agency to immigrants who have a reason to not be deported. It allowed immigrants in the country illegally to apply for driver licenses.
Federal agents arrested more than 20 immigrants who each paid $2,000 for the documents. Two immigrants were convicted this week in Miami and could face deportation.
The Florida Department of Motors Vehicle alerted immigration agents last September about suspicious documents its employees received.
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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com
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