Fresno Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Sell Fraudulent Identification Documents

FRESNO, Calif. — Maria Victoria Perez-Vasquez, 32, of Fresno and a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to transfer, possess, and sell false identification documents, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between June 2015 and June 2016, Perez-Vasquez conspired with others to sell fraudulent identification documents, including social security cards and alien registration receipt cards, to customers who placed orders and paid as much as $150 for a set of the fraudulent documents.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Investigations Division. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case.

On June 16, 2016, Perez-Vasquez and five co-defendants were arrested for the scheme. Four of the other co-defendants pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. Charges are pending against the remaining co-defendant, Fidel Vasquez-Velazquez, who failed to appear in court for a bond forfeiture hearing on August 22, 2016. The charges against him are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Perez-Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on January 16, 2018. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.