BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Authorities have arrested 18 people on accusations they used fake identities to get jobs at various refineries, industrial plants and shipyards in Southeast Texas.
A U.S. district attorney’s office says the accused had been living in the U.S. without legal permission. A federal grand jury indicted the accused earlier this month on charges ranging from illegal re-entry after deportation to identity theft.
The office says the defendants are suspected of using bogus names and fraudulent social security numbers and birth certificates issued mainly from Puerto Rico. Some obtained ID cards from several other states, including Arkansas and Louisiana, with those documents.
The defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison and deportation if they’re convicted of the charges.
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