14 Filipinos nabbed in US for selling fake papers
First posted 07:37am (Mla time) June 28, 2005
By Veronica Uy, Nikko Dizon
Inquirer News Service, INQ7.net
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(UPDATE) THE 14 Filipinos nabbed in the US for selling fake documents and trafficking are in good condition despite being detained in separate counties.
Consul General Cecilia Rebong of the Philippine consulate in New York said she had been given assurances from the US police on the condition of the Filipino defendants.
The Filipino nationals were arrested on June 22 while five others were being hunted by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General in the United States, after they were charged with trafficking in and using fraudulent immigration and identification documents for illegal immigrants from the Philippines.
The defendants reportedly sold Philippine passports with counterfeit immigration stamps, green cards, and stamps affixed to foreign passports that allowed employment until a green card was issued.
According to the US-based newspaper, Filipino Reporter (www.filipinoreporter.com), the 14 defendants (earlier reported as 13) were arrested on June 22 and appeared in superior courts in four different counties the following day.
The Filipino-American online newspaper said that one of those indicted was 47-year-old Romi Lumba, the alleged broker of the fake documents who had arranged for Filipinos to obtain the papers needed to remain in the US. The rest were said to be buyers, who included couples and a mother of an 18-month-old baby.
The mother and her child were released on the same day after paying a 10-percent down payment of their 5,800-dollar bail.
According to the report, the indictments were the result of a 20-month investigation by the NJ Attorney General's office.
The article also said the NJ Office of Counter-Terrorism initiated the investigation as fake documents could lead to terrorism.
It quoted an official as taking note of the reported presence of terrorist groups, some believed to be connected to al-Qaeda, in the Philippines.
According to the NJ Attorney General's office, the charges filed against the Filipinos have penalties of up to five years in state prison and fines up to 15,000 dollars upon conviction.
Rebong had already designated consul Edgar Badajos and Elmer Abu to attend the hearings.
The two would also determine the type of assistance--legal or otherwise--that should be given to the Filipinos, said Rebong.
Bail for the broker was set at 100,000 dollars without the option of paying 10-percent down payment, and 50,000 dollars each for the rest and also without option of the down payment