5 Arrested For Allegedly Making Phony Driver's Licenses

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Five people, including two former employees of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, were arrested Wednesday for allegedly making and distributing fake driver's licenses.

According to officials, arrests were made in Venice, Monrovia, West Hollywood, San Marino and Pacific Palisades. Police also seized printers, computer equipment and evidence of a counterfeit operation that was being investigated for almost eight months.

Three men were arrested on suspicion of fraudulently producing driver's licenses and identification cards -- Peter Scott Singer, 26, of Monrovia; Todd Terrazas, 24, of West Hollywood; and Lawrence Benjamin Goldstein, 22, of Los Angeles.

Each of the men is being held on $100,000 bail.

They face up to three years in prison if convicted.

In a separate investigation, officials from the DMV's Internal Affairs division apprehended former DMV employees Carlos Ku, 28, of Los Angeles and Alejandro Rubalcava, 31, of Bellflower, who are suspected of unlawfully processing and selling unauthorized driver's licenses.

Rubalcalva worked in the Bellflower office for four years, Ku worked in the Santa Monica field office for six years, according to officials.

"The practice of using fake IDs is constantly evolving and getting more sophisticated," Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said.

"From a homeland security perspective, this is a threat not only to public safety, but national security. The illegal operation we shut down was putting dangerous drivers on the road and endangering the public."

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