RICHMOND, Va. — A man from Mexico who oversaw a sophisticated multistate fake identification ring has been sentenced in Virginia to 12 years and one month in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge James Spencer sentenced Manuel Hidalgo Flores on Tuesday. Flores, who lived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, previously pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges.
U.S. Attorney Dana Boente says Flores faces deportation after he is released from prison.
According to court papers, Flores restarted a fake-ID enterprise that federal authorities dismantled in 2010. Twenty-seven people were convicted in that case.
The revived enterprise was based in Mexico and operated in Virginia, Arkansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island. It sold high-quality, bogus documents for $120 to $250 a set to people in the country without legal permission.