A Mexican national and his girlfriend from San Diego have been charged in federal court for allegedly using her brother’s identity to commit multiple crimes in the United States, according to the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors identified the defendants as Luis Enrique Villegas Brownell, 20, a Mexican citizen, and Kassandra Sanchez, 23, a U.S. citizen. According to the complaint, the pair conspired to steal identification documents belonging to Sanchez’s brother, identified in court records as J.D.S. Villegas.

Authorities said Villegas went to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and submitted false information under penalty of perjury to obtain a state identification card in J.D.S.’s name. However, the card was issued with Villegas’ photograph and thumbprint.

You might be interested:Man arrested for allegedly throwing hammer at Chula Vista police patrol car

Investigators said the couple used the fraudulent ID to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally more than 50 times over a 17-month period. On several occasions, Sanchez drove to the port of entry and presented the fake document while lying to border officers, according to video evidence cited by prosecutors.

The case came to light in April when the real J.D.S. attempted to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry but was denied entry. At that point, he told border officers that his sister had asked for his identification documents to help her Mexican boyfriend cross illegally. He added that when he refused, Sanchez took the documents without his consent.

Prosecutors further alleged that Villegas used J.D.S.’s identity to commit other crimes, including smuggling an undocumented immigrant through San Ysidro and fraudulently obtaining state benefits such as Medi-Cal.

Authorities also noted that Sanchez allegedly committed these offenses while on supervised release for a prior federal conviction related to smuggling methamphetamine into the United States.

with information from:  Fox News