FBI arrests illegal immigrants in driver’s certificate scheme

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? The FBI has busted a second ring in six months accused of shuttling illegal immigrants to Tennessee to obtain state driver’s certificates.

Claudio Galvan, the accused leader operating out of the Atlanta area, and driver Armando Rodriguez-Riveros were arrested Friday with five Hispanics believed to be clients as they tried to get driver’s certificates at a Maryville testing center.

The seven, who had come from Marietta, Ga., the day of their arrest, were arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court on charges of conspiracy to illegally obtain identification documents. If convicted, they could face 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In July, six illegal Hispanic immigrants and their guide were arrested in Knoxville after coming from New Jersey to try to get driver’s certificates.

In both cases, the ringleaders are accused of ferrying van-loads of illegal immigrants to Tennessee every few weeks to obtain the certificates, supplying them with phony Knoxville residency documents and charging them $800 to $1,500 apiece.

The activity has centered around Knoxville, centrally located along the north-south Interstate 75 corridor, but an FBI complaint said Galvan claimed he was “expanding his business into the Nashville and Chattanooga areas as well.”

Tennessee, one of only two states with a driver’s certificate program, requires only proof of state residency for the past 30 days to qualify for a certificate.

The certificates were not designed to be used as legal identification, such as a driver’s license, but some law enforcement agencies have said they would accept them as IDs.

The most recent arrest was aided by an unidentified informant who began cooperating with authorities in July, according to a court complaint filed by FBI Agent Scott Wenger.

The informant said Galvan has brought as many as eight clients a week to Knoxville for about two years to get driver’s certificates.

The suspected illegal immigrants arrested Friday were Nancy Zadia Patino-Moreno, Julian Cabello-Galvan, Eloy Contreras Trejo, Jose Juarez-Santos and Mario Eliseo Lopez-Guardado. At least two were believed to be from Mexico and one from El Salvador, the complaint said.