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10,000 Minn. drivers licenses canceled in possible fraud
Tyhe Minnesota Department of Vehicle Services is seriously concerned about people trying to game the system. So four years ago DVS got a federal grant to use facial recognition software, electronically comparing the facial features in photos from driver's licenses and state IDs."That's why we need this program to scrub these faces," said Doug Neville, communications director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. "Because they're comparing points on a face, so whether you put on a beard or wear a hat, through the facial recognition program we're able to find those items." Out of 11 million photos in the vehicle services database, facial recognition found nearly 1.3 million matches. Vehicle services then began going through those records by hand, looking at the pictures side by side. What they were after is fraud. People like Pedro Chavez, aka Jose Cisneros, or Carlos Santiago, or Antonia Ledesma -- four separate Minnesota driver's licenses. Detectives say the Albert Lea man was illegally collecting welfare for a decade, using real Minnesota driver's licenses obtained with phony documents. He was convicted of forgery, and deported. "Is it a fraudulent birth certificate, is it a fake DL from another state?" Neville said. "Yes in all those cases as well as taking someone else's documentation and presenting it as their own." Of these 24,000 driver's licenses, about 10,000 have been canceled. Beyond that, not much else has been done. Not a single name has been given yet to the Department of Human Services to check for welfare or food stamp fraud, and no names have been given or the Secretary of State to check against the voter rolls. And what about criminal prosecution? "All I can say we've referred 5,500 cases to an agency who can take any action necessary," Neville said. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-07-17 |
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