Toronto police bust downtown shop allegedly selling fake IDs

Toronto Police Det. Barry Radford searches through fake ID cards seized in a bust at a downtown shop in Toronto on Thursday, July 18, 2013.

TORONTO -- Three people are facing charges after Toronto police busted a downtown shop allegedly selling fake IDs.

Police said they received a tip that a store was targeting young people in search of fake identification to get into bars.

An investigation revealed a related website called ID Shack that sold ID from every province except Ontario and every U.S. state for as little as $60 a card, police said Thursday.

"It was rather intense," Det. Barry Radford said.

Radford himself went into the shop and made up a story saying his son found the website and he wanted to make sure it was a legitimate business, he said.

"He was willing to sell me identification right then and there if I had a picture of my son," Radford said.

"They don't care who they sell to, who it's for."

The website justified the sales by classifying them as "novelty identification," Radford said. But, he said, "the ramifications are endless" as the cards can be used for criminal operations as well as allowing teenagers to purchase alcohol.

Pictures on the website advertise ultraviolet printing, holograms and magnetic encoding on the stripe and 3D bar code as well as advising people to send in high-quality photos to improve the look of the card.

Police got a search warrant for the store and found a large number of identification cards from different provinces and states as well as fake press passes and firefighter identification, investigators said.

Officers seized a number of IDs, postal receipts, computers and cash on Tuesday, Radford said.

Radford cited an unrelated fraud investigation in which a suspect was found with a card similar to those advertised on the website with his photo, but a different name and date of birth.

"It just goes to show that these cards are capable of being used for criminal activities," Radford said.

The three people charged include the store's owner and two employees.

Maria Pereda Martinez, 29, Julie Jiminez, 27, and Andrew Dnieper, 42, are scheduled to appear in court Aug. 26 to face seven charges each including forgery and identity theft.