Fake Driver License Company shut down by the feds

Abraham Corcino, one of the defendants 

According to the US Attorney, "Alexis Scott Carthens, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to a an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with authentication features and one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2012 through August 2014, Ricardo Rosario, 33, of Jersey City, New Jersey, with the assistance of Carthens and Abraham Corcino, 34, of Jersey City, sold fake driver’s licenses over the Internet. In connection with their illegal operation, the defendants ran a website that was available at “fakeidstore.co” and “fakedlstore.com.”

A number of the fake driver’s licenses sold by Rosario and other conspirators were used by criminal actors in connection with “cash out” schemes where stolen credit card information, usually obtained through hacking or ATM skimming operations, was encoded on to counterfeit credit cards and used to steal cash from victims’ accounts. 

The website sold fake New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin driver’s licenses, and the website boasted that the licenses had “scannable barcodes” and “real” holographic overlays. The price for each fake driver’s license was approximately $150, but the website offered bulk pricing for orders of 10 or more.

The website allowed its users to pay by bitcoin, a cryptographic-based digital currency, or MoneyPak, a type of prepaid payment card that could be purchased at retail stores. The “FAQ” section of the website indicated that orders would be received approximately one to two days after payment was received and described the website’s policy with respect to returns: “No Refunds. No snitching.” 

Rosario created and ran the website. Corcino and Carthens assisted Rosario by creating and mailing the fake driver’s licenses purchased through the website. Corcino also maintained an Instagram account to promote the website.

At today’s plea hearing, Carthens admitted that his role was to create the driver’s licenses and to mail them to the website’s customers. Carthens also admitted that he believed that some of the website’s clients were using the fake driver’s licenses to commit credit card fraud.

Carthens also admitted to his involvement in a separate scheme, spanning from December 2012 through November 2013, to use stolen personally identifiable information to steal tax refund money from the government. At today’s plea hearing, Carthens admitted using information stolen from a medical lab to file false and fraudulent tax returns. Carthens also admitted to working with at least one other conspirator, who assisted Carthens by providing him with email addresses and physical addresses to receive the fraudulently claimed tax refund money.

The count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with authentication features carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2016."

See attached news story here...http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014/09/jersey_city_men_and_newark_man_charged_with_selling_fake_drivers_licenses_make_first_court_appearanc.html

How can people be so stupid to do fakery? Don't they realize they will eventually get caught? The psychology of crime can be found in Talmud Yoma, where it says,"If a man commit an offence and repeat it, it becomes permitted to him." So basically these thieves thought what they were doing was legitimate. Maybe not the first time but they got emboldened as they repeated their crime.But they will pay a price and that is federal prison aka hell on earth.  

To read my story in federal prison and what they can expect, go here...http://www.amazon.com/PRISON-expect-Federal-Bureau-Prisons-ebook/dp/B011GTWLOG