
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 21, 1991                   TAG: 9103210383
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WINCHESTER                                LENGTH: Short

COUNTERFEITING RING LINKED TO FAKE LICENSES

The Frederick County Sheriff's Department is investigating a counterfeiting ring that has been making fake West Virginia driver's licenses.

Officials confiscated equipment used in the operation, including camera equipment, a hand-lettered poster and a piece of yellow paper used as a background in making fake identification cards, said Sheriff Charles Sturdivant.

The ring, operating in a trailer in the northern part of the county, was discovered Sunday by an undercover officer while he was involved in another investigation, Sturdivant said.

The fake licenses, which sold for about $40 each, can be detected by imperfections in the lettering, especially the words "West Virginia," in the state seal and the blue outline around the state map, which appears to have been made with a magic marker, he said.

- Associated Press

by CNB