Indictment: Kansas City, Kan., Woman Sold Counterfeit Identity Documents

TOPEKA, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., woman has been indicted on charges of producing and selling counterfeit identity documents, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Lluvia Fernanda Salinas-Rodriguez, 29, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of trafficking in a means of identification and one count of fraudulent use of an identification document. The crimes are alleged to have occurred prior to Oct. 28, 2013, in Wyandotte County, Kan.

Salinas-Rodriguez initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Nov. 4 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. An investigator’s affidavit filed in support of the complaint alleges she produced counterfeit identity documents including Resident Alien cards, Social Security cards and Mexican and U.S. driver’s licenses over a period of approximately three years. The affidavit alleges she used a computer and printer to scan photos and manipulate them onto a template to produce counterfeit identity documents. She charged $80 to $100 for a set of documents, which included a counterfeit Social Security card and a counterfeit Resident Alien card. According to the affidavit, she sold two sets of identity documents a week for roughly three years.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the trafficking charge, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the other charge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

Rodney Heinen, 37, Dawson, Neb., is charged with two counts of violating the Clean Water Act. One count is alleged to have occurred starting in January 2012 and the other count is alleged to have occurred starting in April 2013 in Jackson County, Kan.

In the first count, Heinen is alleged to have introduced earthen fill and wood debris into a stream flowing through 160 acres of agricultural property he owned. The indictment alleges the stream was covered by the Clean water Act and subject to the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural Resources Conversation Service and the Environmental Protection Agency. The second count alleges that in April 2013 the defendant purchased more than 72 acres of agricultural land in Jackson County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers later found dredge and fill material placed in two streams on the property.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $50,000 per day of violation. The Environmental Protection Agency investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway is prosecuting.

Joel Christian-Ashton Tindall, 25, who is being held in the Shawnee County Jail, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 9, 2013, in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hendershot is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.