St. Louis, MO - The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Yvette Roberson and three associates are charged with providing drivers licenses and non-driver identification cards to illegal aliens.

According to the indictment, Roberson was a contract employee of a privately operated Missouri Department of Revenue Office in St. Louis County. Between March 2010 and December 2011, Ricardo Ortiz and Jorge Fabian Pesqueda Perez provided individuals who were illegally in the United States, such as co-defendant Elizabeth Cervantes, with counterfeit and stolen birth certificates and social security cards. Ortiz and Perez instructed the individuals to approach Roberson at her place of employment and present her with the fraudulent documents. Upon receipt of the fraudulent documents, Roberson issued the individuals genuine State of Missouri driver’s licenses and non-drivers identification documents. Those who received driver’s licenses were not required to prove their ability to safely operate motor vehicles.

YVETTE ROBERSON, St. Louis, MO; RICARDO ORTIZ, a/ka Jose Ramos, Jr., Montgomery City, MO; and JORGE FABIAN PESQUEDA PEREZ, St. Peters, MO; were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges including conspiracy, production of false identification documents and possession of 15 or more access devices. ELIZABETH CERVANTES, St. Peters, MO, is charged with possession of a false identification document.

If Ortiz, Pesqueda and Roberson are convicted, these charges carry penalty ranges between one to 15 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. If Cervantes is convicted, the charge of possession of a false identification document carries a penalty of not more than one year in prison and or fines up to $100,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by the Missouri Department of Revenue Compliance and Investigation Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Tracy Berry is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.