An Omaha man, Saidjon Ibragimov, pleaded guilty in federal court as part of a national ring to get driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. As the co-leader of the operation, Ibragimov, 22, of Omaha was convicted in federal court in Nebraska for transporting 15 illegal immigrants from New Jersey to Nebraska to purchase licenses, between Nov. 30, 2006, and June 13, 2007. Ibragimov was the fourth and final member of the operation to be convicted in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Ibragimov was charged with bribing a Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles employee in Omaha who told authorities in 2006 about a man who offered to pay her for state driver’s licenses. As it turns out, Ibragimov, a native of Tajikistan, had gotten to know the state worker because he served as a translator at the office.
Investigators said Ibragimov brought people from countries all over the world to Omaha to get illegal licenses and let them stay at his apartment. He gave the DMV agent $4,000 and seven passports, and told the employee he would bring Chinese, Mongolian and Tajik nationals from Chicago and the Nebraska area to the office to obtain licenses. Investigators secretly recorded subsequent conversations between Ibragimov and the DMV employee.
Agents arrested Ibragimov and 14 other people two days after their last taped conversation took place. In addition to the four people convicted in the conspiracy, nine others were charged with fraud and bribery.
At the time of the arrests, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department, which participated in the eight-month investigation, placed detainers on 10. That meant the agency suspected the men were illegally in the country.
Following his time in jail, Ibragimov will serve three years of supervised release.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We don’t see any reference in either story to whether Ibragimov is a citizen or here on a visa. Is supervised release the same as parole?…or code for illegal who is being allowed to remain in U.S. If he is here legally but not a citizen, why isn’t he being deported? Any ideas out there?
See full stories:
Illegal immigrant ID scheme nets prison time
Omaha – World Herald – Published Thursday June 26, 2008
Ten arrested in ID bribery investigation
Journalstar.com ^ | 6-28-2007 | CLARENCE MABIN
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