A St Joseph Woman pleaded guilty to charges centered around a $5 million conspiracy providing identification to illegal aliens.

Sara M Gonzales, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Kansas City for her role in the scheme that provided more than 3,500 fraudulent identity documents to illegal aliens across the United States.

Thousands of illegal aliens traveled to St Joseph to obtain a Missouri license at the St Joseph office by using illegally obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards. The state licenses could then be used by the illegal aliens to illegally reside and work in the country.

Her sister and co-defendant, Christina Michelle Gonzalez, 24, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to the same charge on May 7, 2012.

Sara and Christina Gonzalez admitted they accompanied illegal aliens to the St. Joseph license office, under the guise of being translators, in order to assist them with obtaining a Missouri driver’s or non-driver’s license. Those licenses used the names of persons who were listed on unlawfully obtained birth certificates and Social Security cards.

The pair assisted illegal aliens to practice memorizing the information on the fraudulent documents including signatures to prepare for questions in the license office.  They also provided the illegal aliens with a Missouri address.

The illegal aliens were usually charged between $1,500 and $1,600 for the document sets and the Missouri driver’s and non-driver’s licenses. Sara and Christina Gonzalez collected money from the illegal aliens, which they paid to their co-conspirators. It is estimated that more than $5,250,000 in gross proceeds was paid by illegal aliens to members of this conspiracy.

Under federal statutes, Sara and Christina Gonzalez are each subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings have not been scheduled.