Grand Jury Indicts Mexican Crime Boss
Jim Kouri, CPP
August 09, 2005
A federal grand jury in Denver indicted a Mexican man who ran an international criminal organization responsible for the illegal production and distribution of counterfeit identification documents in cities throughout the United States.
Pedro Castorena-Ibarra, 42, of Guadalajara, Mexico, is believed to be hiding in Mexico. The U.S. government plans to file a formal request for his extradition with the government of Mexico. To date, more than 50 members of his organization have been prosecuted in Denver and 20 computerized counterfeit document labs have been seized around the country.
This criminal organization represents one of the largest and most sophisticated document fraud rings ever uncovered, so much so that it set up franchises in most major U.S. cities and counterfeited dozens of types of documents. Fraudulent documents can be provided to terrorists and other criminals, posing a major homeland security vulnerability.
The indictment of Castorena-Ibarra follows a five-year investigation by federal agents with the Homeland Security Department in Denver, with assistance from the IRS, the Social Security Administration Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The investigation began in October 2000 when agents began investigating the sale and distribution of counterfeit identity documents in Denver. During the course of the investigation Castorena-Ibarra was identified as the leader of a large scale criminal organization involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards, Mexico Matricula Consular ID cards, driver’s licenses and identity documents from various states of Mexico and the United States.
The investigation revealed that Castorena-Ibarra and other members of his criminal organization have been involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents in numerous cities throughout the United States. Investigators found that previous investigations conducted in Los Angeles and other cities dating back to the late 1980s also targeted members of the Castorena-Ibarra family and organization.
Sources: National Association of Chiefs of Police Fraud & Forgery Committee, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, American Federation of Police
Pedro Castorena-Ibarra, 42, of Guadalajara, Mexico, is believed to be hiding in Mexico. The U.S. government plans to file a formal request for his extradition with the government of Mexico. To date, more than 50 members of his organization have been prosecuted in Denver and 20 computerized counterfeit document labs have been seized around the country.
This criminal organization represents one of the largest and most sophisticated document fraud rings ever uncovered, so much so that it set up franchises in most major U.S. cities and counterfeited dozens of types of documents. Fraudulent documents can be provided to terrorists and other criminals, posing a major homeland security vulnerability.
The indictment of Castorena-Ibarra follows a five-year investigation by federal agents with the Homeland Security Department in Denver, with assistance from the IRS, the Social Security Administration Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The investigation began in October 2000 when agents began investigating the sale and distribution of counterfeit identity documents in Denver. During the course of the investigation Castorena-Ibarra was identified as the leader of a large scale criminal organization involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards, Mexico Matricula Consular ID cards, driver’s licenses and identity documents from various states of Mexico and the United States.
The investigation revealed that Castorena-Ibarra and other members of his criminal organization have been involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents in numerous cities throughout the United States. Investigators found that previous investigations conducted in Los Angeles and other cities dating back to the late 1980s also targeted members of the Castorena-Ibarra family and organization.
Sources: National Association of Chiefs of Police Fraud & Forgery Committee, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, American Federation of Police
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