An employee at the Jefferson County Department of Revenue is charged with a felony crime after lawmen say she was selling fake driver's licenses from her desk at the county courthouse.

The Jefferson County Financial Crimes Task Force arrested 49-year-old Tamiko Monique White at work on Dec. 27. She was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 11:02 a.m. and released the same day after posting $10,000 bond.

The investigation into White began in June, said Vestavia Hills police Lt. Steve Gurley. The Financial Crimes Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Vestavia Hills Police Department, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Secret Service.

Gurley said they launched the probe when they received information during the course of another investigation - which dealt with fraudulent documents dealing with automobiles - that anyone wanting to purchase a fake driver's license could do so through White. Authorities sent someone in undercover to do just that, and both video and audio recorded the entire transaction.

Gurley declined to say how much the fake driver's licenses were being sold for, and said investigators don't yet know how many had been sold or over what period of time.

It is a serious issue, Gurley said. "Think about the things you can do with a fake ID. You can get loans, go online and have things shipped to your house. It's endless,'' he said. "That's why it's so important that we stop that."

It's not, he said, about underage kids wanting to be able to get into a bar. "Anything from voter fraud to obtaining documents or cashing a check, you name it,'' he said. "That's typically what they're providing - a service for people who do worse crimes."

Those wanting to purchase a fake driver's license knew White was the go-to person at the Jefferson County Revenue Department, Gurley said. "You couldn't just walk up to the counter and get anyone,'' he said. "You had to get in front of her, at work."

There were other steps that had to be taken, but Gurley declined to elaborate. White is charged with trafficking in stolen identities, which is a felony. She is due to make her first court appearance on Jan. 17.

White has been employed by the county for a couple of years, and her duties included issuing driver's licenses and non-driver identification cards.

She is on administrative leave, and will have due process under the rules and regulations of the Jefferson County Personnel Board, said County Manager Tony Petelos."To maintain the integrity of the process, Jefferson County does not comment on pending personnel issues or ongoing criminal investigation,'' he said.

"We have no reason to believe at this time that identities of any customers to the Jefferson County Revenue Department have been compromised,'' Petelos said, "and we will continue to work with the task force as they continue their investigation."

The investigation is ongoing. There's a lot more to it,'' Gurley said. "I don't know how much we're going to uncover."