Mexico man sentenced to 57 months for role in massive counterfeit identity organization

Mexico man sentenced for role in fake ID ring

DENVER — A Mexico resident has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison after admitting a role in a massive operation that manufactured and sold counterfeit identity documents in seven U.S. cities.

U.S. Attorney David Gaouette said Thursday that 46-year-old Pedro Castorena-Ibarra’s organization was one of the largest fraudulent ID rings in the country.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized more than 3 million counterfeit documents worth more than $20 million during the investigation.

They said it operated for about five years in Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas and New York City.

Castorena-Ibarra of Guadalajara was sentenced last week to 57 months in prison. He pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit money laundering.