AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885

NOVEMBER 5, 2007

MVA AND CAR DEALERSHIP EMPLOYEES SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY TO OBTAIN AND SELL MARYLAND DRIVER’S LICENSES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS

162 Fraudulent Maryland Driver’s Licenses Sold

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) employee Candace Nicole Green, age 35, of Landover, Maryland today to 19 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, and Ana Maria Lorena Creque, age 46, of Adelphi, Maryland to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiring to produce and sell unlawfully produced Maryland driver’s licenses issued by the MVA, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Titus also ordered Creque to pay a $25,000 fine.

“State-issued driver’s licenses are a primary form of identification, so it is critical for us to protect the system from fraud and corruption,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. Mr. Rosenstein noted, “This case is one of several prosecutions involving corrupt Maryland MVA employees identified with the assistance of the MVA’s Internal Investigations Section.”

"The actions of Candace Nicole Green, who profited from unlawfully producing and selling Maryland driver's licenses and identification cards, pose a threat to our national security and public safety," said James A. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Baltimore. “Today's sentencings clearly demonstrate our commitment to thwarting identity and document fraud in Maryland and we will continue to diligently identify, arrest, and bring to justice those involved in these illegal schemes."

According to their plea agreements, from January 2005 to September 16, 2006, Green and Creque conspired with others to produce and transfer unlawfully produced identification documents. Green was employed at the MVA office in Beltsville, where she issued Maryland driver’s licenses and identification cards. Creque worked for a car dealership in Beltsville where she met Green in the course of her duties preparing paperwork for automobile titles.

As part of this conspiracy, the defendants and others met with prospective Maryland driver’s license applicants who were willing to pay money to obtain a driver’s license illegally, typically because the applicants were aliens without legal status in the United States or were otherwise unable to obtain a lawfully issued driver’s license. Applicants would pay Creque and others approximately $2,500 to $3,800 for each fraudulently issued Maryland driver’s license. Creque and others assisted the applicants in traveling to the Beltsville Branch of the MVA, and directed them to Green’s workstation, where the applicants obtained Maryland driver’s licenses produced by Green without lawful authority. Creque then paid Green approximately $1,300 for each fraudulently issued Maryland driver’s license that Green produced and transferred to the applicants. Under this scheme, 162 Maryland driver’s licenses were unlawfully produced and sold.

After her arrest on September 16, 2006, Green told investigating agents that she had some of the payments she received for producing the driver’s licenses at her home.

Her home was searched and agents recovered $9,000 in a bowling ball bag. After her arrest on September 19, 2006, Creque’s house was also searched and agents recovered $6,000 that were proceeds of the conspiracy.

Hector David Elvir-Hernandez, age 28, of Riverdale, Maryland; Dennys Tome-Henriquez and Henry Geovanni Romero-Nunez, both age 29 and of New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Julio Ferman Miguel-Lopez, age 34, of Hyattsville, Maryland, also pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy. Judge Titus sentenced those defendants to 27 months, 16 months, 17 months and 15 months in prison, respectively.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Internal Investigations Section of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration Investigation and Security Services Division and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. The case originated with information provided by the MVA. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Dunne, who prosecuted the case.