Three Guatemalan nationals involved in a conspiracy to sell phony identification cards to illegal immigrants in West Michigan have pleaded guilty, with the first defendant recently sentenced for her role in the scheme.
Norma Ayala, 35, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, received eight months in prison by a federal court judge in Grand Rapids. She will be deported for a fifth time following her stint in federal custody.
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer false Social Security cards and Permanent Resident cards to illegal immigrants, said Timothy VerHey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan.
Ayala was among three defendants indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested in Grand Rapids in September 2025. Each of the defendants later pleaded guilty to their role in the conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“This case is an example of why the public has lost its tolerance for illegal immigration,” VerHey said in a news release following her sentencing. “Ms. Ayala has been removed from the United States four times, which shows her disregard for our laws.”
Ayala, together with Rigoberto Vasquez-Vasquez, 42, and Edgidio Vasquez-Mencho, 41, were accused of advertising, manufacturing and selling the fraudulent cards.
The trio sold the fake documents before June 2024 through June 2025 to individuals who were in the U.S. illegally, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Ayala took orders from buyers, obtained biographical data and photographs for the documents, passed the materials to a co-conspirator, delivered the finished documents and collected payments.
Ayala will be removed to Guatemala after the completion of her sentence, VerHey said.
“When she came back, for the fifth time, she celebrated her good fortune by starting a fraud ring to enrich herself and to allow others to evade our immigration laws,” he said. “This conduct is unacceptable, and my office will aggressively prosecute it whenever it occurs.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan pursued the charges following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations’ Grand Rapids office. This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Michigan Homeland Security Task Force as part of Operation Take Back America.
HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey said HSI special agents remain committed to “investigating and dismantling document fraud schemes that threaten the integrity of our immigration system.”
HSI investigators began looking into the scheme in 2024 after receiving reports of fraudulent IDs and Social Security cards being sold to illegal immigrants in the Grand Rapids area.
HSI agents observed seven occasions where the men sold the fake documents to confidential sources, according to details of the indictment.
Ayala’s co-conspirators were charged with conspiracy to transfer false identification documents and the transfer of false identification documents. They are scheduled for sentencing at a later date.
Ayala and Vasquez-Mencho also were charged with illegal reentry into the U.S., which carries a two-year prison sentence. Vasquez-Mencho had been deported from the U.S. once before.
The defendants each faced a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison but will likely serve much less after pleading guilty.
“The production and distribution of fraudulent identity documents undermine the security of our nation and enable further criminal activity,” Murphey said. “We will continue to pursue those who manufacture and sell counterfeit documents and work with our partners to ensure they are brought to justice.”
