A South Carolina state grand jury investigation into a fake identification document operation has led to the detention of 48 people after authorities executed a search warrant at a business. The case, which officials have detailed at a news conference, centers on the production and sale of forged documents, an enterprise that prosecutors say relied in many cases on the stolen identities of real Americans.
The investigation began in October 2024 and was given the name Ghost Story by Creighton Waters, the chief attorney of the state grand jury, who said he chose it because the case started around Halloween. According to Waters, the inquiry was set in motion when SLED agents, who also serve as Homeland Security Investigations task force officers, approached the grand jury for help in pursuing the matter.
From the outset, prosecutors say they approached the case the way they would a narcotics investigation, focusing on the suppliers rather than the end users. As Waters put it, the goal was to go after the dealers, the people making the documents and selling them, instead of simply targeting those who ended up holding the forged identification.
The scale of the document trade was a core concern. According to the prosecutor, for just a few hundred dollars, people could obtain fake licenses, fake Social Security cards, lawful permanent resident cards and other identification documents. In many instances, those documents were built on the identities of real Americans whose personal information had been stolen and then reused.
Officials said the problem went beyond ordinary fraud because of where some of the forged documents were turning up. Workers using fake identification were said to be employed in critical manufacturing and even in areas tied to defense contracts, a situation authorities described as impossible to ignore given the risks of people with no legal right to be there holding sensitive positions under false identities.
The operation itself was a large one. A document search warrant was executed at a business to gather additional evidence, and, anticipating that a number of people without legal status would be present, authorities marshaled resources from SLED, local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, particularly HSI. Immigration and Customs Enforcement handled the detentions, taking 48 people into custody at the site.
As for what comes next, officials said ICE is reviewing the status of those detained and providing due process. Some who had previously been ordered removed will continue through the removal process, others are being placed in removal proceedings, and some have chosen voluntary departure. The Eighth Circuit solicitor is partnering with the state grand jury on the prosecution, and authorities indicated that more operations of this kind are expected.