Mobile Lab for Fake Id's Busted

A Warren County man is charged with manufacturing illegal identification cards after his vehicle was stopped for a registration violation Monday in McMinnville.

At about 9 a.m., Monday Trooper Gary Myers saw a Ford Escort visibly advertising identification cards that could be made in ten minutes. The Escort's vehicle did not have a commercial license plate, known as an H-1 tag, required for vehicles used in a commercial enterprise.

When he stopped the vehicle, Trooper Myers saw a portable computer in the front seat and a card printer for producing plastic IDs in the rear seat. The driver gave consent to search and troopers say they recovered several fake Tennessee and Florida ID's.

The driver, Louis Correa, was arrested and booked into the Warren County Jail on charges of Manufacturing Government Documents, Suspended Drivers License, Possession of more than one Drivers License, and Registration Law (furtherance of a business not displaying a commercial tag).

They say that in a statement, Correa acknowledged making and selling at least 300 of the fraudulent IDs.

Agents with the THP Criminal Investigation Division are conducting an on-going investigation into the fraudulent identification cards and possible federal violations. The ID cards were very close to authentic and might easily fool a financial or business operation.