Mexican National Accused of Forging 30,000 Papers : Crime: Santa Ana man is arraigned on federal charges of possessing and distributing counterfeit immigration and Social Security documents worth $600,000.

A Mexican national living in Santa Ana was charged Thursday with forging more than 30,000 identification papers in what authorities called the largest such case in Orange County history.

Antioco Garcia-Roman, 29, was arraigned in Los Angeles on federal charges of possessing and distributing counterfeit immigration and Social Security documents worth an estimated $600,000. Garcia, who is being held without bond in the Metropolitan Correction Facility in Los Angeles, is scheduled to return to federal court Feb. 8. “This is what we would call a major wholesaler,” said Robert H. Reed, supervisory special agent in charge of the Immigration and Naturalization Service office in Orange County. “He would sell to smaller vendors and manufacturers, who would then assemble the documents and sell directly to illegal immigrants.”

Reed said that, after a series of tips, agents found the bogus papers in a Santa Ana storage facility Wednesday.

“We’ve know about his operation for about six months,” Reed said, “but he’s probably been in business much longer.”

Material found in the storage facility, along with a small amount of items recovered from Garcia’s apartment, included phony “green” cards, temporary resident cards, Social Security cards, California and Mexican birth certificates and state registration forms, authorities said. The seized documents will be sent to the agency’s document laboratory in McLean, Va., for analysis.

The agents also seized seven ounces of cocaine, $1,500 in cash, $10,000 in uncashed money orders and receipts for $48,000 worth of money orders that had been sent to Mexico.

Garcia-Roman, who is a legal resident with a legitimate green card, was arrested Wednesday at Orange County Jail. He was working as a janitor as part of his parole obligations stemming from a drug sales conviction, according to Reed.

At the Shurguard Storage Center and a garage near Garcia-Roman’s apartment, agents also found laminating equipment. The documents appeared to have been printed in bulk by a commercial printer, who has not been identified, Reed said.

If convicted, Garcia could be imprisoned and/or deported, INS officials said.