A Gwinnett County man is among 50 charged with illegally providing undocumented citizens with phony identification documents, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
Juan Quero Mendez, of the Lilburn and Norcross areas, is among those named in the 69-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury Dec. 29 and unsealed this week.
According to the indictment, from at least April 2009 to December 2011, conspirators in 15 states and Puerto Rico trafficked the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens, including corresponding Social Security cards, birth certificates and other identification documents, to undocumented people living in the United States.
Mendez's role in the fraud ring was to serve as an "Identity Broker," meaning he unlawfully acquired and distributed documents to customers, the indictment states.
In June, Mendez allegedly applied for a Georgia identification document using the name and birth of an alias, Luis Gonzalez, the document states. Then in July, Mendez told others in the ring he wanted to buy eight identity sets, and was given names, birth dates and Social Security numbers through text messages.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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