Former Grand Island man sentenced for selling counterfeit documents

OMAHA, Neb. (KSNB) - A former Grand Island man is heading to prison for more than a year for selling counterfeit documents.

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced 42-year-old Domingo Zacaria Ciprian for unlawful transfer of a document or authentication feature.

Ciprian was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Ciprian will begin a 1-year term of supervised release. Ciprian is a citizen of Guatemala and will be deported after serving his sentence.

U.S. Attorney Steven Russell said through information gathered from previous investigations, law enforcement learned that Ciprian was selling counterfeit documents.

On September 21, 2021, investigators made an undercover purchase from Ciprian of fraudulent documents to include a Social Security card and Nebraska Driver’s License. Ciprian was provided a down payment for the documents through MoneyGram, and he used his address and phone number to pick it up the payment.

Following the purchase, investigators secured a warrant to search the Ciprian’s residence in Grand Island. The search on November 3, 2021, yielded 92 counterfeit documents, many of which appear to have been issued by or under the authority of the United States, as follows: 52 Social Security cards; 31 state identification cards/driver’s licenses; 1 Permanent Resident Card; and 8 birth certificates. Ciprian forfeited $6,640.00 in proceeds from his document trafficking operation.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.