Fifteen indicted in scheme to obtain fake Ohio IDs

Some of those who received false documents were in the country illegally.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Fifteen people, including a Bureau of Motor Vehicles employee, have been indicted in a scheme to fraudulently obtain Ohio driver's licenses or identification cards, federal officials said Thursday.
All 15 defendants are charged with conspiracy to produce false identification documents, the Justice Department said. Tammy Black and Mohammand "Mike" Shalash also are charged with 13 counts of production of a false identification document.
The indictments claim that Black, 40, of Cleves, helped falsify applications and issued licenses for men who were brought to her by Shalash, 30, a Jordanian living in Cincinnati on permanent resident status.
At least six of the 13 men who received falsified documents were in the country illegally, immigration officials said.
Shalash charged the men $200 to $300 to arrange the meetings, and Black received wireless phone cards for issuing the documents while supervisors were at lunch, the indictment claims. All the documents were issued between March and September 2004.
A conspiracy conviction carries a possible punishment of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The same penalty applies to conviction on the charge of production of a false identification document.