Journal News
HAMILTON, Ohio -- An illegal immigrant believed to have made and sold fake identification cards as a key player behind a local immigration fraud scheme was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison.
Ernesto Escalante-Bartolon, 29, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty in March to 10 felonies: six fifth-degree forgery charges; three third-degree tampering with government records charges; and one fifth-degree identity theft charge.
The sentence came down from Butler County Common Pleas Judge Craig Hedric as closure to an investigation the Butler County Sheriff's Office began late last year. In a December 2006 sting, deputies unearthed thousands of fake ID cards with a street value of $600,000. Escalante-Bartolon had been handing out business cards advertising the phony documents, authorities said.
"We think that in this day and age, manufacturing phony identification is a very serious offense and we're very pleased that Judge Hedric chose to sentence him to the state prison for six years before he will be deported back to Guatamala," Prosecutor Dan Ferguson said.
Posted by tyne at April 19, 2007