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Whit Johnson Reporting Following the crackdown on undocumented workers in northern Utah investigators have charged two people with the sale of citizenship papers and identity theft.
145 were arrested at the Swift meat packing plant in Hyrum as part of a six-state operation that rounded up 13-hundred people.
Authorities say Veronica Carillo, a Mexican national living in Logan, told an undercover informant she had sold more than 300 real birth certificates and Social Security numbers to create identities. She's in the Weber County Jail tonight.
The other suspect is Elecuterio Gutierrez. He's a fugitive US citizen with an El Paso, Texas mailing address.
The use of stolen social security numbers by illegal immigrants was the driving force behind that raid. This type of ID theft can have damaging effects and you may not even know you're a victim.
Eyewitness News Investigations and undercover cameras have exposed the problem before.
Roberta Woody, Fraud Victim: "Someone stole mine, it's been terrible. It really has."
The sale of real social security numbers, your name, your address on the streets for illegal immigrants to use.
Richard Hamp, Asst. Attorney General of Utah: "They should be very concerned because it's serious stuff."
Serious and back in the news as nationwide immigration raids are exposing undocumented workers using social security numbers to find jobs. A few days ago it happened at a meat processing plant in Hyrum, Utah.
Richard Hamp, Asst. Attorney General of Utah: "I have had victims who have gotten notices from the IRS for back taxes they've owed on jobs they've never worked."
Utah's Assistant Attorney General Richard Hamp says if you're a victim you could owe thousands, it can destroy your credit report and it's not just you. Your child is also at risk.
Camber Lybbert, Mother of Child ID Victim, February 2006: "He's registered everything to her number. So he's pretty much become her without the name."
You could owe taxes for someone else's work, money for someone else's loan, utility bills and more. It's a growing problem. Studies show the numbers are increasing; there are thousands of victims in Utah alone.
Richard Hamp, Asst. Attorney General of Utah: "Their numbers are being sold on the streets for about 20 bucks a piece. If you want to go for the package deal you can buy a number and a resident alien card for 60 dollars."
If your identity is bought on the streets you might not find out for years. It's yet another element as America debates illegal immigration.
In light of the raid, federal agents claim hundreds of identities have been stolen. If you think you might be a victim, call the Taxpayer Advocate Office, at 801- 799- 6958.
An exclusive SurveyUSA poll for KSL Television shows Utahns have strong opinions on immigration issues.
The poll asked 500 adults if they had sympathy for those arrested in the illegal worker raid at Swift and Company processing plants. The majority said they had at least some sympathy
57 percent thought the timing of the raids was appropriate. 35 percent thought it was not appropriate.
82 percent of people polled thought the Federal Government could be doing more to enforce immigration laws.
