A Woodburn man pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a conspiracy that produced more than 10,000 fraudulent government identification cards, including driver’s licenses from Oregon and more than 25 other states, U.S. Social Security cards, false immigration records, birth certificates, marriage licenses and vehicle titles.

Miguel Merecias-Lopez, 24, and unidentified conspirators worked out of a secret photo lab in Woodburn, using digital cameras, computers, scanners, laminators and a high-resolution printer to produce bogus documents that they sold and distributed in Oregon and mailed across the United States, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Sax.

The investigation continues and other arrests are anticipated.

Merecias-Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce fraudulent documents and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon in Portland.

He joined the conspiracy in January 2017 after he arrived in the United States from Oaxaco, Mexico, Sax said. He’s responsible for creating at least 300 of the fraudulent documents, including permanent resident cards, Social Security cards and driver’s licenses, according to a plea agreement.

Miguel Merecias-Lopez, 24, on Tuesday , March 5, 2019, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce fraudulent government documents and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Columbia County Sheriff's Office

Customers paid in cash through Paypal, via U.S. mail or in person, and communicated with the sellers via email, Facebook and Snapchat, investigators said.

Merecias-Lopez was arrested Sept. 21, 2017, behind the driver’s wheel of a black Toyota Camry in a fast-food parking lot in Woodburn when he arrived to conduct a drug deal with an informant working with investigators from the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force, according to court records. More than a kilogram of methamphetamine was found on him and a search of his apartment revealed equipment used in the fake document scheme, the records show.

Investigators seized laptops, printers, ink, flash drives, notebooks, laminators, dozens of security images and seals commonly used on legitimate ID documents, as well as unused plastic card sleeves they believe were intended for the production of another 10,000 identification cards, according to court documents.

Merecias-Lopez, who is being held at the Columbia County Jail in St. Helens, will be sentenced on June 18. He isn’t a U.S. citizen and is expected to face deportation after serving his term, according to the plea agreement.

Conspiracy to produce false identification documents carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and the methamphetamine distribution conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum and a $10 million fine. Prosecutors are expected to recommend a sentence on the lower range.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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