Maury alum who made fake IDs gets 8 months

NORFOLK

Obtaining a fake ID has become almost a rite of passage for teenagers seeking to purchase alcohol and get into clubs. One Maury High School grad and computer whiz-kid turned it into a profitable business, selling more than 100 authentic-looking driver’s licenses to his peers for as much as $150 a pop.

But in an age of terrorism, the FBI didn’t look kindly upon the venture. Agents arrested the teen, Aubrey L. Beach III, now a student at Virginia Tech. On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced Beach to eight months in jail, plus six months of house arrest.

The FBI began investigating Beach about a year ago when another teen was charged with drunken driving after a crash on Interstate 64. The teen, who was not identified, had been drinking and had a fake driver’s license. He told authorities that he had obtained the license from Beach, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Agents would later learn that Beach’s computer activities were more than just a hobby. While at Maury, Beach had been caught hacking into the school’s computer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Samuels said Tuesday.

Beach’s computer skills became well known throughout the community, his attorney said. At 16, Beach began making driver’s licenses for his friends, changing the date of birth so the youths would appear to be of legal drinking age, prosecutors said.

Initially, he charged $50 per license but increased his fee to $150.

The licenses were nearly indistinguishable from real ones. He created them with holograms and special paper he purchased over the Internet. He also used software to change not only the date of birth on the front of the card but the birth date hidden in the license’s bar code.

“The defendant became well known among local Norfolk area high school students for producing quality counterfeit driver’s licenses, which enabled the underage users to enter bars and purchase alcohol,” Samuels wrote in a statement of facts filed with the court.

In the course of about a year, Beach took in between $10,000 and $15,000, Samuels said.

He was arrested in August and released on $20,000 bond, but his case had not been publicized until now. He pleaded guilty in September to one count of production of false identification documents, a felony that carries a maximum of 15 years in prison.

But under federal sentencing guidelines, the punishment for Beach, who had no prior criminal record and had other factors in his favor, fell between 12 and 18 months of incarceration.

His attorney, Joseph A. Pennington, argued in court that Beach should get probation, given his young age, his strong family support and his intelligence.

“This is not a national security case,” Pennington told U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. “This is not providing IDs to terrorists.” He said Beach began producing the fake license’s as a “desire for peer acceptance.”

Samuels argued that prison time was necessary to send a message to other teens.

“The defendant has told us that a number of others were producing false IDs as well,” Samuels told the judge. “The defendant should not get a break because he comes from a good background,” Samuels said. “He should not be able to rely on his youth.”

The use of phony identifications became a national security issue after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when authorities discovered that some of the hijackers who were in the country illegally had easily obtained driver’s licenses, some in Virginia.

In sentencing Beach, Jackson noted the problem.

Phony identifications “can be used for all kinds of crimes you can’t imagine,” the judge told him. Jackson said not imposing a prison term “sends a terrible message.”

Beach apologized, addressing mainly his father seated behind him in the courtroom.

“I’m really truly sorry for what I’ve done,” he told the judge. “I just want to take full responsibility for my actions.” Afterward, Beach and his parents declined to comment.

The judge allowed Beach to self-report to the U.S. Marshals on Jan. 2 to begin serving his sentence. FBI spokesman Phil Mann said his agents and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles continue to investigate. Anyone with pertinent information can call the FBI’s Norfolk office at (757) 455-0100.

“In a post-9/11 world, we cannot tolerate the manufacture, distribution or use of fake documents for any reason,” Mann said in a statement.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said school policy calls for disciplinary action against any student convicted of a criminal offense, but he was unaware of the Beach case.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com