The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fake documents" ...
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Identity Evil
"Identity Evil" is an in-depth look at a violent fake document cartel operating in states across the country. The cartel is the largest and most sophisticated fake id ring federal investigators have ever encountered. They were funneling millions of dollars from U.S. cities south of the border into Mexico. The cartel became synonymous with murder and torture as they sought to protect their turf from rival gangs and enforce discipline within their own organization. Using eyewitness accounts, federal wiretaps, and interviews with victim’s families, investigative reporter A.J. Lagoe and photojournalist Ben Arnold take viewers inside the cartel and document the violence that would prove to be their undoing.
Tags: Fake ID; federal wiretaps; violence; fake document cartel
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"Just Like Us"
Author Helen Thorpe gives an in-depth look at the Mexican immigrant subculture within the U.S. Thorpe follows four Mexican girls, best friends, as they grow up in Denver. Two are legal residents, and two are not. When political arguments "over immigration rage fiercely," the girls struggle with the fate of their futures as the two without legal status learn they "do not possess equal opportunities or rights compared to" the others who do "possess legal status."
Tags: illegal immigration; Mexico; Denver; black market; stolen identity; fake documents; green card; Mexican immigrants
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The Cloning Scam
"It is estimated that 37 thousand stolen vehicles are cloned every year in Brazil." To do so, they must use fake documents to pass car inspections, which allow them to receive counterfeit plates. To reveal all this activity, the reporter had to befriend these people and act as one of the gangs involved in the cloning scam. Also, the reporter learned how these criminal acts work and what it takes to pull this all off.
Tags: car cloning; Paraguay; gangs; drugs; criminal commerce; police; con; rip-off; inspections; cars
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"At Top Subprime Mortgage Lender, Policies Were Invitation to Fraud
Amid a nationwide lending crisis, reporters found policies at Long Beach Mortgage "encouraged rampant fraud." Company policies made it easy for employees to submit "fake documents" and override "bad loans." Loan reviewers were often bribed with money or expensive items to approve bad loans.
Tags: Long Beach Mortgage; investment; banking; lending; Wall Street
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The Art of Deception
A Seattle Times investigation revealed that a seemingly reputable Asian antiques dealer neighboring some of Seattle’s most respected art galleries in the touristy Pioneer Square peddles blatantly fake ceramic tiles, vases and jars worth only a fraction of their selling price. Fraudulent artifacts sold for thousands of dollars is nothing new in the Asian art world, but this gallery, Thesaurus Fine Arts, is unique because their pieces, unlike many fakes, are purportedly backed by scientific evaluation. Company papers list Thesaurus employees as officers, but The Times learned that the gallery is secretly owned and operated by Steven Cheung, a wealthy Hong Kong-born U.S. citizen with homes in Seattle, Hong Kong and Shanghai. He’s an internationally known economist who has been a candidate for the Nobel Prize in economy. The Times discovered that Cheung is connected to both the TL labs that had certified the teapot and tile -- and that the IRS is investigating him for tax fraud.
Tags: art; Asian; antiques; consumer fraud; Seattle; Thesaurus Fine Arts; Steven Cheung; thermoluminescence; TL; Hong Kong University; University of Washington; IRS; Justice Department; Oxford; Daybreak
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Identity Crisis
Dateline investigates the ease with which fake identities can be obtained. In the course of a year-long investigation, a Dateline producer was able to obtain a fake driver's license, two birth certificates, and two temporary driver's permits. Even with increased security measures that verified social security numbers, fake documents were readily procured. The investigation probed some of the same loopholes that the September 11th hijackers were able to exploit.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; drivers license; identity theft; September 11th; 2001
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No title (id: 13898)
WSMV found a Nashville police officer who had been collecting disability pay for 15 years working as a patrol officer in California. In fact, he was not even patrolling the streets in California, he was collecting disability there for yet another disability claim. The investigation found the Nashville officials could have cut off his benefits years ago, had they obtained documents found in the file of the Nashville police department jus a block away. (October 28, November 11, 25, 1996)
Tags: Amons Slattery Aching or faking Contest entry Fraud TAPE No Script