KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
A St. Joseph woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a more than $5 million conspiracy to provide thousands of fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens across the United States.
Christina Michelle Gonzalez, 23, admitted that she participated in the conspiracy from November 2009 to January 2012.
Prosecutors said thousands of illegal aliens traveled from across the United States to obtain either a Missouri driver's or non-driver's license at the St. Joseph license office by using unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards.
It is estimated that more than 3,500 licenses were issued to illegal aliens by the Department of Revenue license office in St. Joseph.
The state licenses could then be used to obtain employment and other illegal acts.
Gonzalez admitted that she accompanied illegal aliens to the license office as being a translator in order to assist them with obtaining a license. She also helped them to practice memorizing the information on the birth certificates and Social Security cards, in addition to signing the name to match the signatures on the documents.
She also admitted she prepared them for potential questions from the license office employees.
Those licenses used the names of persons who were listed on unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards.
They were then charged about $1,500 for the document sets and licenses. It is estimated that more than $5.2 million was collected.
Gonzalez is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000.
Copyright 2012 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved.
