Mexican national couple sentenced for making, selling thousands of counterfeit identifications

TULSA, Okla. – A Mexican national couple sentenced for making and selling thousands of counterfeit identifications to clients throughout the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Karina Garcia-Salazar, 47, for Conspiracy to Transfer Identification Documents and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Use or Transfer Five or More Documents. Judge Hill ordered Garcia-Salazar to [X] months imprisonment, followed by [X] years of supervised release.

Garcia-Salazar’s co-defendant, Jorge Augusto Prieto-Gamboa, 41, was sentenced in December 2025 for Conspiracy to Possess Fire or More Documents with Intent to Transfer. Judge Hill ordered Prieto-Gamboa to serve 15 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

From August 2020 through their arrest in February 2025, Garcia-Salazar and Prieto-Gamboa worked together to create thousands of fake immigration documents. Court records show that the defendants sold the fake documents in several controlled buys orchestrated by agents. During those buys, agents confirmed that Garcia-Salazar and Prieto-Gamboa were working together to sell identification cards and Social Security cards.

A search warrant was served on their home in Tulsa. During that search, agents found at least 67 fake completed documents and seized several electronic devices for further search. After searching their devices, agents found more than 2,000 different identification documents, including Social Security cards, lawful permanent resident cards, state driver’s licenses and ID cards, foreign ID cards, and passports. Screenshot communications found showed conversations with clients that included photos, dates of birth, other information needed to complete the false documents, and photos verifying that the documents were completed. Agents also found client ledgers and images of envelopes mailed across the United States.

Bank records and surveillance obtained by agents show that Garcia-Salazar used a fake Mexican passport to open a local checking account rather than her permanent resident card. Cash deposits made by both defendants and peer-to-peer transactions showed that the couple charged $120 to $150 for fake cards. The fake passport used by Garcia-Salazar and more than $32,000 in cash were also found during the search warrant.

During the investigation, agents confirmed that at least one ID was made and sold to a separate defendant charged in the Northern District of Oklahoma. He admitted to smuggling and trafficking three kilograms of methamphetamine and three kilograms of black tar heroin into the United States. 

Court records show that Garcia-Salazar obtained a lawful permanent resident card and that Prieto-Gamboa entered the United States unlawfully in 2002. The couple will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Greenough prosecuted the case.

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Dallas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.