Detailed news is emerging concerning what law enforcement agents and University of Georgia (UGA) police in Athens say was a well established fake ID ring that provided false identification to many hundreds of students.
The IDs were reportedly widely used for underage drinking and were stated to be of exemplary quality. They were sold at amounts ranging from $50 to $100. Evidence that has been gathered includes expensive printers, laptops, iPhones, magnetic strip ID cards and hologrammed laminates of driver's licenses from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and other states.
Investigation into what police say was a ring of several persons -- including manufacturers and couriers -- began last autumn when a student in a UGA dorm approached campus police out of her concerns that her roommate's involvement with the scam would eventually get her into trouble, as well. That student is not a suspect in the case.
However, her initial tip off of the scheme resulted in police officers arresting the roommate on a felony charge of possessing and distributing fake IDs. Investigators then obtained warrants to search several premises, including a student's home and a fraternity, where substantial evidence was uncovered.
Police were also able to examine one of the suspect's emails and phone text messages, which provided the names of numerous persons inquiring about the IDs
In the investigation's early phase, students with fake IDS were allowed to hand them in to UGA police without facing questions or penalties. More than 300 cards were turned in.
UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson says that his department expects "a multitude of arrests" and that the investigation could lead "to other institutions and other geographic locations."
Source: Red and Black, "University police uncover fake ID network" Jan. 8, 2012
