TAMPA TRIBUNE

December 21, 2007

Sheriff: Scams Helped Illegals Drive

By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Authorities say they have broken up a ring of south and east Hillsborough County businesses that preyed on illegal immigrants seeking help with vehicle purchases.

State and federal charges are making their way through the courts after at least a dozen suspects were arrested, Sheriff David Gee said Thursday at a news conference.

In September 2006, the sheriff requested his Homeland Security and Intelligence Division look into a pattern of hit-and-run crashes in southern and eastern Hillsborough that involved illegal immigrants who did not have valid insurance or registration documents.

"There was a lack of insurance in almost 100 percent of the cases," Gee said.

The immigrants seeking to register vehicles and obtain insurance knew they were using fake identification to get those documents, but the businesses were preying on them, Gee said.

"Some of the immigrants thought they did have legitimate insurance when in fact they did not," Gee said.

Those people face charges of driving without a valid license.

The sheriff's office, along with the Hillsborough County State Attorney, the U.S. Attorney and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, filed 18 state and seven federal charges against the suspects. The majority of defendants were business operators and owners.

Gee said the title companies advertised their services by posting fliers in areas of the county where migrant workers commonly live. Most of the illegal immigrants paid about $500 for help in learning how to get a fake ID and for the businesses to process a car title and vehicle tags for them, he said.

Most documents seized in the investigation were determined as fraudulent, said Michael Kennedy, a special agent with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The federal government has filed fraud charges against the operators of April Lopez Title Co. in Ruskin and the Julia Garcia Title Co. in Wimauma. If convicted, the defendants each face up to five years in prison.

The federal defendants each face up to five years in prison if convicted, U.S. Attorney spokesman Steve Cole said.

"These people don't care who they issue the documents to," he said.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober's office filed fraud and forgery charges against the operators of Inter Car & Truck Sales in Dover, Demetrio Title Co. in Ruskin and Jimaguas Auto Sales. Ten drivers were charged with driving without a valid license and one was charged with giving a false name to law enforcement.

It is not thought any state workers were involved in the schemes, he said.

"There is no way for the tax collectors to determine if they have legitimate driver's licenses or insurance," Gee said.

Still, some tax collectors have limited title companies to submitting no more than five title applications a day in an effort to curb fraud, he said.

"We will seek legislative changes," Gee said. "This is a basic loophole that has opened our system up to all kinds of fraud."

It is up to government to fix the problem, Gee said. Those involved in the joint investigation will seek legislation to require tax collectors to get document verification before processing any vehicle purchases.

"The insurance industry has not pursued this simply because they're not out any money," the sheriff said.