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| 2 jugged for trying to give Abu Sayyaf fake documents |
| 2005-02-27 |
| Two Louisiana men are in federal custody after they allegedly tried to provide fake documents, including Mississippi driver's licenses, to terrorists. Lamont Ranson, 32, and Cedric Carpenter, 33, both of New Orleans, are the first to be charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to defraud the United States and an attempt to provide material support to terrorists, U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton said. Both men thought they were setting up a deal to provide members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf with fake birth certificates, Social Security cards and other documents, Lampton said. In exchange, the men were asking for $500,000 in cash and $500,000 in heroine, according to court papers. But the people they were meeting with were government informants for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lampton said. "These (suspects) are not charged with being terrorists," Lampton said. "They are people willing to assist persons they thought to be terrorists." Abu Sayyaf is a radical Islamic group based in the Philippines whose goal is to establish a separate Islamic state for the minority Muslim population in the Philippines, according to court records. It is designated by the federal government as a foreign terrorist organization, papers show. Ranson and Carpenter, who were arrested Thursday, are being held without bond at the Madison County Detention Center. Carpenter also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to court papers. Each is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Jackson on Monday morning. If convicted, Ranson faces up to 85 years in prison and a $3 million fine, and Carpenter faces up to 35 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. The men approached an informant in April 2004 on board a cruise ship during a trip from New Orleans to the Western Caribbean and inquired about producing the false documents, according to court papers. In June, Ranson showed the informant a laptop computer that included a program for the production of driver's license, the court papers said. The men claimed to have "insiders" at the state Department of Public Safety who could assist them in obtaining false Mississippi documents, Lampton said. DPS Commissioner Rusty Fortenberry and state Highway Patrol Chief Col. Marvin Curtis were immediately notified of the men's claims and investigated them, Lampton said. DPS spokesman Warren Strain said the men actually came to DPS headquarters and propositioned a female inmate to help them get materials needed to make the licenses. The inmate turned them down and notified officials, Strain said. "They never had access to anything that would help them obtain false documents," Strain said. In July, though, Carpenter had a complete set of fraudulent documents, including a birth certificate, Social Security card and a Mississippi driver's license, records show. Some documents showed his photo but listed another identity, Lampton said. "We were very concerned about that," Lampton said. "He did have the ability to produce some documents." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |