Three Guatemalan nationals have been hit with federal charges in West Michigan for allegedly selling phony U.S. residency cards to illegal immigrants.
Norma Yanari Ayala, 34, Rigoberto Vasquez-Vasquez, 42, and Edgidio Vasquez-Mencho, 41, are charged with conspiracy to transfer false identification documents and the transfer of false identification documents, according to Timothy VerHey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan.
All three were indicted by a federal grand jury, and they were arrested in Grand Rapids on Sept. 30. Ayala and Vasquez-Mencho also were charged with illegal reentry into the U.S.
Under the Trump administration, U.S. District Attorneys are cracking down on fraud cases in an effort to combat illegal immigration. Many illegal workers obtain employment by using fake documents and identification.
“These cases are a priority,” VerHey said. “Illegal immigrants come to the United States because they know they can get phony work documents allowing them to take U.S. jobs. We know whatever we can do to disrupt the fraudulent document business will help us get control of illegal immigration.”
According to a news release, the defendants are accused of conspiring to transfer and sell false permanent resident cards and Social Security account number cards.
The trio allegedly sold the fake documents before June 2024 through June 2025 to individuals who were in the U.S. illegally.
Homeland Security Investigations agents observed seven occasions where the men sold the fake IDs to confidential sources, prosecutors said.
If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Ayala and Vasquez-Mencho also face up to two years in prison for illegal reentry into the U.S. Ayala has been removed from the U.S. four times, and Vasquez-Mencho has been removed once, prosecutors said.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Daniels is prosecuting it.
Several foreigners have been accused or convicted of crimes in Michigan in recent months.
In September, the feds charged a Michigan woman for her role in an international smuggling operation that allegedly helped illegal immigrants cross the northern U.S. border into Vermont.
A federal grand jury indicted Norma Linda Lozano, 53, of Ypsilanti, for one count of conspiracy to smuggle aliens and six counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit. The indictment alleges she drove from Michigan to Vermont to meet the illegal immigrants at prearranged locations near the border.
Last month, a 61-year-old Chinese woman pleaded guilty to running a criminal enterprise for her role in a human trafficking ring operating in Wayne and Macomb counties.
Authorities said the defendant, Huazi Piao, was one of multiple defendants arrested during Dec. 6 police raids at alleged illicit massage parlors, The Detroit News reported.
In June, a Chilean national convicted of being part of a gang behind home invasions and thefts across Michigan was sentenced to 10-20 years.
Also in June, a Canadian man convicted of drug trafficking was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was once on Homeland Security Investigations’ Ten Most Wanted List.
