Two St. Peters Residents Involved in Illegal Immigrant Licensing Scheme

Two St. Peters residents were among those involved in a scheme that provided Missouri drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. 

According to court documents, two men, Jorge Fabian Pesqueda Perez and Ricardo Ortiz, provided immigrants with the identifying information of legal United State citizens. The men instructed the immigrants to meet with Yvette Roberson, a employee of a privately operated Missouri Department of Revenue Office in St. Louis County. Authorities said Roberson took the false information and used it to give the illegals Missouri driver’s licenses and non-drivers identification documents.

In one case, Roberson advised an individual that the idenity he was trying to use had criminal warrants attached to it and he should find a new one. Authorities said those who received licenses were not required to prove their lawful residency or their ability to safely operate motor vehicles.

Roberson, Ortiz, and Pesqueda Perez assisted co-defendants Elizabeth Cervantes, Rafael Moreno Guerrero, Magdalena Contreras Lopez and others with obtaining fraudulent State of Missouri drivers licenses.

Roberson was sentenced to 42 months in prison on one felony count of conspiracy to defraud, one felony count of producing false identification documents, and two felony counts of aggravated identity theft.

Ortiz pleaded guilty to his involvement in the license scheme. He also entered a guilty plea to having illegally re-entered the United States after being deported. His wife, Melissa Ortiz, pleaded guilty to harboring an illegal immigrant. According to the plea, Ortiz had been deported at least three times prior to being arrested on the current charges in 2012. 

Ricardo Ortiz, also known as Jose Ramos, Jr., 31, of Pacific, Mo., pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud, two felony counts of production of false identification documents, two felony counts of aggravated identity theft and one felony count of illegal re-entry of a previously convicted felon. He was sentenced in November to 45 months in prison. 

His wife Melissa Ortiz, 33, also of Pacific, pleaded guilty to one felony count of harboring an illegal immigrant. She was sentenced to three years of probation.    

St. Peters resident Jorge Fabian Pesqueda Perez, 35, was sentenced to 16 months prison. Elizabeth Cervantes, 27, also of St. Peters, MO pleaded guilty to related charges and awaits sentencing in January 2013.

Rafael Guerrero, 42, Warrenton, Mo., and Magdalena Lopez, 42, also of Warrenton, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of possession of false identification documents were sentenced to one year of probation.