A University student has been implicated in the production and distribution of counterfeit California drivers licenses, Oregon Liquor Control Commission officials said Thursday.
The allegations came at the conclusion of an investigation into the increased usage of false identification at University area bars, supermarkets and convenience stores. The OLCC turned over information to the Lane County District Attorney’s office Wednesday.
The OLCC alleges that Christopher P. Basham, 19, produced counterfeit California driver’s licenses and sold them to fellow students. Basham is a resident of Parsons Hall in the Bean Complex.
The charges Basham could face are now in the hands of the Lane County District Attorney’s office.
“The case has just come in, and at this time we’re still reviewing it,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Mortimore said.
Basham was cited in October 2000 with three misdemeanor charges stemming from the attempted use of a counterfeit Oregon driver’s license to purchase alcoholic beverages at a Eugene Albertson’s.
Several attempts to reach Basham for comment were unsuccessful.
The investigation into the production of the California IDs began in January 2001, OLCC spokesman Ken Palke said, when counterfeit California drivers licenses began appearing at area taverns and stores. Several students linked to using the fake California IDs told OLCC inspectors that Basham made them and sold them to the students for $50 to $80, Palke said.
Palke said OLCC received counterfeit California IDs from Albertson’s, PC Market, Taylor’s, Rennie’s Landing and 7-11, as well as another convenience store, all in the University area. Palke said that although Basham could face felony counterfeit charges, the severity of the charges lies with the district attorney’s office.
“This is more serious than students realize,” Palke said. “Use of false identification is becoming big because of the ease of computers and the Internet.”
OLCC officials said the similarity of the IDs led to the investigation. “One of the keys to the investigation is that they all had the same appearance, tipping us off to the fact that these IDs were most likely all made with the same computer,” Palke said.
Recent technological advances were helpful to the success of the OLCC investigation.
“As we were investigating the counterfeit California licenses, we asked for a DMV photo of Basham and discovered it was his picture on the fraudulent Oregon license,” said OLCC Inspector Steve Syron. “When we cited Basham for use of the Oregon license, we advised him of our investigation into the creation and sale of fraudulent California licenses.”
The Department of Motor Vehicles just recently began storing individuals’ pictures in its computer systems.
The OLCC has seen five or six cases of counterfeit ID rings in the last couple years, Palke said. “In the short run it’s thrilling, but with the felony charges an individual can face, [producers of fake IDs] can be forced to give up a lot of rights,” Palke said.
Taylor’s bar manager Justin Walker said his staff regularly sees fake IDs. “Being this close to campus, we’re always on the lookout,” he said. “If there is one thing that I tell my doormen, it’s ID, ID, ID.”
Harrison Fishback, a bartender and doorman at Rennie’s Landing, said employees there usually confiscate one to three fake IDs a night.
“We see more than we’d like to,” he said, “but probably about the average number for a campus-area bar.”
Fishback added that Rennie’s Landing keeps all the IDs that are confiscated in a notebook, where the confiscating employee writes information regarding the ID and the incident. Once a page becomes filled, it is handed over to the OLCC.
If servers are found to have provided alcohol to a minor, their permit, which the OLCC requires to be able to work, can be taken from them, or they may receive a fine. “A server’s permit — it’s your livelihood,” Palke said. “Most of the time [servers] check pretty hard.” The establishment also gets punished; if a server provides alcohol to a minor, his or her employer can also receive a hefty fine.
Basham is scheduled to appear in Lane County Circuit Court on June 7 on the charges stemming from the attempted purchase of alcoholic beverages at Albertson’s supermarket. Charges from the alleged production of the California IDs are still pending.