The Office of the Inspector General for the Arizona Department of Transportation reports that two men have been charged for their involvement in manufacturing identifications, credit cards, and checks to buy vehicles.
They say from July 2017 until last week, 40-year-old Jason Elliot Benjamin printed counterfeit checks totaling nearly $50,000 and gave them to 31-year-old Dustin Thomas Doherty to make fraudulent purchases.
They first used fake cards to rent a Jeep Compass, then later bought two other Jeeps from other car dealerships. Doherty also allegedly used a phony credit card to rent an apartment in Glendale.
At one point, ADOT, says, Doherty took the counterfeiting equipment from Benjamin "with the intent of continuing the fraud schemes and forgery practices."
Doherty was arrested for forgery and possession of a forgery device, while Benjamin, who was arrested on November 16 at his home near 7th Street and Bethany Home Road, has been charged with trafficking false identities.
