TAMPA — A dozen folks, four of them illegal immigrants, have been charged with helping others create fake IDs and vehicle titles which were thereupon used to obtain authentic documents, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee announced that afternoon.

Gee said a 16-month investgation pointed out a flaw in the way the county’s tax collector operates. No system is in place, he said, to check authenticity of IDs presented in the course of trade.

"We are going to be seeking legislative changes. that is a basic loophole that has opened our system up to false activity," Gee said.

Gee, joined by representatives from Immigration Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Hillsborough County State Attorneys Office, said companies operating in east and south Hillsborough County had

Migrant workers would come to store fronts advertising ways to get valid car titles. The companies would help them get fake IDs and paperwork, which the companies would turn by to the tax collector, Gee said. The tax collector would thereupon issue valid titles.

Two more arrests are expected. Seven of 14 suspects face federal charges related to the transfer of five or more false identification documents. Some of the folks who benefitted from the phone IDs were plus arrested.

The Sheriff’s Office grew suspicious in September 2006 after a series of hit and run crashes, in which drivers had no car insurance but seemingly valid titles, Gee said.

– Justin George, Times staff writer

Original post by Times staff