Document text
Ashland cop cracks forgery case By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland police have put the kibosh on a forgery operation which netted thousands of dollars and bilked more than 100 people - many of them Ashlanders - going back at least five months. Ashland Police Department officer Josh Moulin shows off some of the recovered fake identifications. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER "This is a case where an officer goes beyond the scope of what he was called to do," APD Lt. Rich Walsh said of officer Josh Moulin, who broke the case in early March. Responding to a March 3 report of a man behaving in a menacing manner with a gun at a gas station near the south Interstate 5 interchange, Moulin contacted a suspect who matched the description given to police. While the man turned out not to be the suspect, Moulin's suspicions were aroused when the man presented obvious forgeries of a California driver license and two pieces of military identification. "This wasn't who I was looking for - he was in the wrong place at the wrong time for him," Moulin said. Moulin followed the man back to a Windsor Inn motel room to gather more information, and there he found a room full of California driver licenses, forged checks, and ID card information printed on regular paper which looked like attempts to practice making forgeries. There were also multiple computers, printers, digital cameras and other equipment. "Basically it was a production place for fake IDs and forged checks," Moulin said. "These were pretty high-tech printers and he had a pretty good set up." Moulin left and came back with a search warrant - and help. "We seized five computers and 130 other (forgery-related) items," Moulin said. Police also found three bags of stolen mail, much of it taken from Ashland and the surrounding area. The mail was apparently taken to obtain personal information such as names, social security numbers, dates of birth and bank account numbers. Using that information, false identities could be created, forged checks could be cashed and ill-gotten gains could be reaped. Police have found 109 victims of the forgery spree - ranging from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada to Oxnard, Calif. - dating back to October 2002. More than 40 of the victims were Ashlanders, most of whom live in rural areas with isolated, easily robbed mailboxes. About $3,000 is estimated to have been stolen, based on what police know at this time. As a result of the investigation, police arrested husband-and-wife team Anthony and Christina Corona, 37 and 32 years old respectively. The two were hit with multiple forgery charges, but could be in deeper trouble. The military IDs - along with airport security badges and other security-related forgeries - sent up a red flag for Moulin, particularly in today's security-minded post 9-1-1 atmosphere. "My first question was, 'Who was he making these for?'" Moulin said. "That was my concern." The Navy was notified, and showed an interest in the investigation, and soon the FBI, U.S. postal Service and other federal groups were made aware, as well. "All of these agencies became very interested," Walsh said. "It's amazing how quick the federal government is jumping on local stuff that might affect things on the national level." So far, nothing in the investigation makes police think the forgery crew might have made identification cards or security passes for terrorists, or had any terrorist connections at all, according to Walsh. The U.S. Attorney is looking at prosecuting the case, but has not yet decided. If it is not taken up at the federal level, the Jackson County District Attorney will most likely take on the case, but a hearing date has not been set. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -